Social media makes it easy to share information online and make a little money if you become popular enough. I have a lot of respect for creators who put their lives online and talk about personal health issues to help others because it’s not always easy to be vulnerable. Social media has a lot of negatives, but it can positively impact disabled people because it allows them to connect with others who truly understand and bring awareness to issues that non-disabled people may not be completely aware of. I have been a content creator for about seven and a half years and have nothing against people posting online because I do that myself, but not everything that you see online is good. Social media makes it easy for anyone to post online about literally anything, which is why we have to question everything we see online because not everything is true. I follow a lot of different accounts because everyone can provide a different perspective on life. There are some types of accounts I will not follow because it’s doing more harm than good and were only created because they made the owner a lot of money. What types of posts online can I not stand? In this post, I am sharing a few posts that I see online too often that make me unfollow you.
What I eat in a day- When I share pictures of the food I am eating, I often do it to show you how accessible it is to make that food. However, you will never see me post about what I eat in a day because these types of posts can be harmful and lead to comparison. Fitness influencers sometimes will do what I eat in a day posts, and there is nothing wrong with them, but the only people who should be doing them are nutrition experts, such as a dietitian or nutritionist who has the knowledge to educate the nutrition of those foods. These types of posts can be harmful when they’re done by someone who has no nutrition training because it implies that if you eat like me, you will look like me. Everyone comes in different shapes and sizes, and we could all be eating and exercising in the same way, and our bodies would still look different. I don’t like what I eat in a day posts because it often leads to comparison, and even though someone is eating a certain way at that specific moment, that doesn’t mean they eat that way all the time.
People bragging about how fit they are- As a disabled health blogger, I often advocate about the importance of exercise and do my best to show disabled people how to exercise. Never will you see me take pictures of my stomach or any part of my body and brag about how fit I am. There is nothing wrong with teaching people how to exercise because some people don’t know how, but taking pictures of your stomach to show people you have abs is not helping anyone improve their fitness. The only thing that you are doing is bragging about how fit you are and making people compare their fitness to yours. I don’t like before and after photos because these days it is too easy to use AI and make yourself look fitter than you actually are for views. I think that the only time it might be okay is if you are a personal trainer with a business and need to show people you get results; otherwise, it’s just bragging. Disabled people who can’t work out sometimes get jealous of these types of accounts and wish they could look like their favorite influencers, which is why we need to stop doing these types of posts.
Disabled parents who use their child’s disability to build brands- I will support other disabled people sharing their story online, but will not support accounts that are run by disabled family members. Parents of disabled children sometimes will take advantage of their child’s disability and take pictures of their sick kid in the hospital, post them online, and use them to build brands. They will call it disability awareness, but it’s not disability awareness when you use your child’s disability to your benefit, and that is exploitation, which is not okay. These types of accounts make me so sad for disabled people because most of the time, the disabled person was not given a choice. Disability accounts should be run by disabled people, and what is shared about their health should be up to the disabled person, not their parents. Some disabled people will have a passion for online disability advocacy, while others won’t, and parents of disabled children shouldn’t be forcing their children to be influencers because they profit off of it.
Doctors who use platforms to make fun of patients– There are a lot of doctors advocating online, which is important because doctors can educate people in ways patients can’t. I have nothing against doctors getting online and educating people about different medical conditions, but I do have a problem when doctors use social media to make fun of patients and don’t protect their privacy. It is so frustrating to me when I see doctors violating a patient’s privacy rights and doing things that are very illegal and getting away with it. I wish there were stricter rules to prevent things like this from happening because it’s so unethical and wrong. Doctors who do things like this should lose their license because that is not okay.
Accounts that claim cures– There are a lot of good disability accounts that are doing great work, but not all disability accounts are created equal. Some accounts claim cures which is harmful because most disabilities and chronic illnesses have ways to manage their symptoms, but can’t be cured of their chronic illness by eating healthier. Accounts that claim cures should be removed from the Internet because most disabled people want to be cured of their chronic pain and will do anything to get rid of their chronic pain. People who claim cures are doing a lot of harm because it gives disabled people false hope, and if you are going to claim a cure, you’d better be sure it works before you go public about it. I unfollow accounts that claim cures because I can’t trust any of them, especially if it’s coming from someone who has no medical background that would have the knowledge to be able to cure a disability.
Social media makes it easy to bring awareness to any cause, and I am grateful for it because I would be unable to advocate without the Internet. You have to be careful with what you believe online because not all influencers are honest and fact-check their information. Some people don’t care if they are harming their audience and will make posts based on how much money they can make from it. People change, and it is okay to unfollow people who no longer align with you, and sometimes you have to unfollow someone for your mental health. Be picky about who you follow online and don’t follow accounts that make you feel bad about yourself. Your social media feed should lift you up, and if it doesn’t, you may want to unfollow some people. There are a lot of dishonest people online, and you shouldn’t follow people just so you can have more followers because some people are toxic. It is always better to have a smaller following that supports your mental health than a larger following that doesn’t. What types of accounts do you unfollow? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
Subscribe To My Blog To Be Notified Of New Posts
My Rockin Disabled Life 