Taylor Swift says turning off Instagram comments does wonders for self-esteem
Like so many of us, Taylor Swift is well aware that social media can be both miserable and magical.
Ahead of the 29-year-old singer's 30th birthday, Swift wrote a deeply personal essay for Elle, titled "30 Things I Learned Before Turning 30." In the essay she shares some invaluable life lessons with readers, including one social media tip that's made Instagram far more bearable for her: disabling the comments section.
The first lesson Swift wrote about was how she's "learned to block some of the noise" over the years. She explained that while social media can be great, "it can also inundate your brain with images of what you aren't, how you're failing, or who is in a cooler locale than you at any given moment."
"One thing I do to lessen this weird insecurity laser beam is to turn off comments," Swift wrote. "Yes, I keep comments off on my posts."
The singer went on to explain that while disabling comments might seem like a small action, it has a profound effect on her mental health.
'I think it’s healthy for your self-esteem to need less internet praise to appease it.'
"I’m showing my friends and fans updates on my life, but I’m training my brain to not need the validation of someone telling me that I look 🔥🔥🔥. I’m also blocking out anyone who might feel the need to tell me to 'go die in a hole ho' while I’m having my coffee at nine in the morning," she wrote.
"I think it’s healthy for your self-esteem to need less internet praise to appease it, especially when three comments down you could unwittingly see someone telling you that you look like a weasel that got hit by a truck and stitched back together by a drunk taxidermist. An actual comment I received once."
If you want to give Swift's advice a try, disabling comments on your Instagram photos is simple. Right before you go to post something, click the "Advanced Settings" option and then enable "Turn Off Commenting."
You can also disable comments on a photo after it's already been posted by clicking the three dots in the upper righthand corner of the post and selecting "Turn Off Commenting."
Say farewell to trolls and the need for extra written validation, and hello to a less chaotic version of Instagram. You can read 29 other life lessons from Swift, along with her thoughts on politics, the 2017 Manchester attack, and more, check out the full essay for Elle.
Topics Instagram Music Social Media Celebrities
Nicole is a Senior Editor at Mashable. She primarily covers entertainment and digital culture trends, and in her free time she can be found watching TV, sending voice notes, or going viral on Twitter for admiring knitwear. You can follow her on Twitter @nicolemichele5.
