5 Tips on How to Overcome Social Media Negativity

Social media negativity comes with putting yourself out there and unfortunately, comes with the nature of the internet. It’s impossible to completely avoid trolls on the internet who sit behind their computers and anonymously spread their negativity to others.

I realized it is hard to make everyone happy, some people may have a different opinion or a negative view on a post or photo or simply don’t like the outfit I’m wearing. I started my @thriftsandthreads Instagram almost 4 years ago in December and since that time have learned to not take these comments to heart or let it affect my creativity or my brand. I’ve been trying to teach Jadyn the same thing, as she recently got an Instagram account- but more importantly in dealing with other kids that may just say rude comments to her in general, whether it be at school or extra curricular activities. Although these tips are for social media, they really can be applied to other areas in your life where you may experience negativity from others.

There have been times where I have received really negative or even inappropriate comments whether it be on photos, Direct Messages on Instagram, Instagram Live, e-mails, blog comments, etc. In the beginning of my blogging career, it did hurt a bit because I felt like I needed to defend myself or give an explanation. But since then, I’ve learned to just ignore and move forward- I don’t owe negative people any explanation.

Instead, I understand that something must be going on in their life where they don’t feel great, because whatever the mouth speaks is a reflection of the heart. So knowing negativity is truly not a reflection of yourself, but rather more a problem with the person speaking, it’s much easier to not take it personally. I’ve learned to always embrace the positive comments, accept constructive criticism from those I trust and ignore the blatant negativity.

Below are a few things I have learned while dealing with social media negativity throughout the years and hopefully it will help you too in your blogging journey:

It’s not about you

I mentioned this above, but most of the time when people comment mean and hurtful things it is not because of you, but because of their own pain. You never know what someone else is going through, so I just learned to empathize, move on and be positive.

Block keywords

The great thing about the social media world evolving, is now on Instagram you are able to block certain keywords from showing up on your comments section. You can find this new comment filtering feature on the app’s “Options” page, under “Comments”. I block curse words, sexual and derogatory keywords. My page is not a place for that type of content or words so I just simply don’t allow it.

Decide if it’s constructive criticism or if it’s a troll

I have no problem with feedback saying if a reader was irritated about something not working correctly on my site or there was a broken link in a swipe up. I always listen to that feedback and respond if I’m able to make adjustments etc. But I think it’s best to consider if the negative comment is offering useful feedback or if the main point is to bring you down. If the point is to bring you down, the user is simply not worth your time or energy and you shouldn’t spend another second dwelling on that comment.

Always be positive

I try to always be a positive in life and also online. Life is too short to dwell on the past, so staying positive helps to keep me sane. For me, positivity comes from a heart of gratitude and thankfulness. There is so much to be thankful for- if you’re reading this, you should be thankful you have eyes to see. Being thankful about super basic things in my life that are easy to take for granted keep me grounded and help keep an attitude of positivity. I also think it helps attract positive people to my blog and social media as well.

Don’t respond and block when necessary

There have been times where I wanted to respond to a hurtful comment. When people comment negative things about Anthony or Jadyn I can get upset and want to comment back, but I consider the source and move on. I feel like responding would just add more fuel to the fire and isn’t worth my time.

I have also blocked users before that have said rude comments about my daughter Jadyn, I simply don’t want users following me who think it’s ok to say derogatory remarks about my 10 year old. And I 100% believe there are legitimate times where blocking a user makes sense- they simply don’t deserve to follow you if they are going to spend time writing comments like that.

I hope this helps you guys moving forward- these tips have been great for me and have worked well in helping me overcome social media negativity.

What do you guys think about this and have you experience such negativity? Would love to know how you handled it. Comment below!

xx Brittany