If you don’t like someone’s content, it’s pretty simple to just hit that unfollow button…or just stop reading.
There’s always someone posting about “if you don’t like me you can just unfollow me”, or something along the lines of that. And while that’s true, I thought it would be interesting to hear why people unfollow accounts or stop reading blogs. I decided to round them up here because I thought it was interesting…and I’d love to hear more thoughts!
Too into themselves/forget why they started/don’t engage thoughtfully
It’s really off putting when you follow someone or read their blog because you think they’re a genuine person. And then you see otherwise. When it comes to engaging, if I’m taking the time to engage with you, I honestly expect it in return. I really do love authentically engaging and getting to know people on social media and on their blogs. And if they’re not interested in getting to somewhat know me back, then it’s probably not someone I want to support. I’ve seen this with bloggers who just kind of blew up over the years. I’ve seen people get too full of themselves, and just forget why they started.
Only sponsored content/nonstop links and pushing product
I think people have such a hard time with sponsored content because they don’t truly understand it. It’s a form of advertising. It’s part of our jobs to work with brands and tell our audiences about brands, products, and services. To play devil’s advocate, as a follower of a lot of bloggers, I know how frustrating is to constantly get product pushed down your throat.
Inauthentic
Probably one of the biggest reasons why I stop following people. A few of you responded that inauthentic can not only mean buying followers, but also things like doing nonstop secret giveaways as well. It’s really disheartening when someone you’ve followed for a while because they WERE authentic…until they’re not. It’s VERY easy to get caught up in that game, so I totally understand why this is one of the main reasons for unfollowing someone.
Political
I got this answer A LOT. Although my space is not political, I really do admire those who use their platform to speak up. It helps open up hard conversations to people from all over. No, it can get ugly sometimes, but that’s why I admire those who use their platforms to share their opinions.
Just don’t relate to them anymore
I actually got a few of these, and honestly, this makes the most sense to me. I think all of the responses are good ones, but this one just is what it is. Sometimes, you just stop relating to someone. For me, I don’t necessarily relate to mommy bloggers. Sure, I follow A LOT of accounts and bloggers who are moms (Liz is one of my favorites). But I don’t follow anyone who solely is a mommy blogger. In reality, why would I? I’m not a mom, and not looking to be a mom any time soon, so I simply don’t relate to those who post that type of content.
I’m sure many of you can agree with a few of the statements above. Sure, unfollowing people is not ideal, but the point of Instagram is to create a feed that inspires YOU. And as far as blogs, I want to support people with super thoughtful content. Now I want to hear more from you: Do any of the above reasons sound familiar?