Stop Scrolling. Start Blocking.

I have had so many people tell me how hard it is to be on social media these days. How draining it is, how heavy it feels, how sad it makes them.

I always empathize, because I used to feel the exact same way.

But I haven’t experienced that in over a year.

Did I somehow find a magical way to shut off my feelings? No.

What I did was set a boundary.

Just like going no contact with the narcissists in my life, I realized something really important: I do not give consent to toxic behavior—no matter where it’s coming from. And that includes social media.

So I revoked its access to me.

Did I delete it? Yes. For a few months. I needed space to reset. But when I logged back on, I showed up differently.

I BLOCKED every single account that felt like it had the right to show me horrific news stories, disturbing videos, or anything heavy and intrusive—without my consent.

And I mean every single one.

Does that make me uninformed? Absolutely not.

If I want to know what’s going on in the world, I will go to news sites and look. Intentionally. On my own time. But it is 100% separate from my social media experience.

I choose when I engage.

And that changed everything.

Back in 2020, there was a massive bot campaign pushing the idea that if you “looked away,” you were privileged. That taking a break from social media or not consuming constant traumatic content made you a bad person.

Let’s call that what it is: emotional abuse.

When people were overwhelmed and trying to take care of their mental health, they were met with shame. Labeled as cowards. Told they were part of the problem for not constantly consuming the worst parts of the world.

That is not awareness. That is manipulation.

I no longer participate in that.

I don’t scroll past horrific videos. I don’t absorb messaging that dysregulates me. I don’t even make exceptions for causes or movements I support.

If it shows up in my feed and it feels like too much, I go straight to the page and BLOCK it.

Because when I am on social media, I want to enjoy myself.

That is allowed.

And when I want to be informed, I will go seek that out in a way that I am prepared to process.

That is also allowed.

Here what I invite you to try:

For the next 30 days, block the politicians you support and the ones you don’t.Block the movements you agree with and the ones you don’t.Block the news accounts, the commentary pages, all of it.

Anytime something pops up in your feed that feels intrusive, overwhelming, or heavy on social media—go directly to the page and BLOCK.

Your algorithm will shift faster than you think.

And more importantly, you will feel the difference.

After 30 days, if you miss being constantly hit with the problems of the world, you can go into your block list and unblock them.

But I doubt you will.