A Balanced K-Pop Social Media Diet
You are what you eat - even when it comes to SNS in K-Pop
Inevitably, I'm going to hear it occasionally in some of my communities or friend groups that like K-Pop.
"(Insert Social Media Platform here) is awful. I don't bother with it."
I don't necessarily fault people for thinking this way. Usually it's the result of a bad experience, either personally dealt with or watching as a horrified, yet fascinated observer, kind of like when you roll past a car crash on the highway but can't help sparing a glance for the carnage.
Whew. I'm just trying to enjoy my favorite K-Pop idols enjoying gelato, guys.
I could go on and on about how social media companies have, for the most part, ditched responsibility for shepherding their users into not foaming at the mouth every three posts, but that would take up way too much space, so I'll simply say that it just hasn't helped matters when it comes to K-Pop, an industry that A)loves and encourages mass consumption and B)has inspired fierce loyalty to the point that perceived small slights become deep, world-ending offenses.
So when I hear people swearing off of social media. First, is a small flash of envy. Guys, some of us have to work professionally in these spaces regularly. Leaving the platforms entirely is a bit counterproductive to future employment and paychecks. But damn, it'd be nice.
Anyway, second, and more relevant, is just to think that people aren't watching their SNS intake. I know it might sound unbelievable to some of you, but it is possible to be on X/Twitter, or Instagram, or Discord, or anywhere else and not lose your sanity having to watch the latest fanwar or stan offensive or nuclear hot take go by. You just have to be selective.
I like to think of this stuff as dieting properly. I'm going to assume that when it comes to food and drink, you don't immediately shovel and vacuum everything you see as such into your gaping maw - or that if you have, your doctor probably yelled at you not to. Balancing what you eat, cutting 0ut excess, watching out for the stuff that could stop up your heart valves or kill your kidneys or anything else like that is just good health practice. It can and should be the same with your K-Pop social media consumption.
I know it's hard not to participate in this kind of stuff. Social media rewards short term, high volume engagement even if that engagement might be toxic or otherwise terrible. It encourages or at least is a bystander silently filming you for clout while you engage in online fisticuffs with some random who you'll never convince of your opinion.
It's like a craving for food you shouldn't have but you still want. I get it. I have an irrational, occasional craving for Zingers (Ho Hos are a shadow of their former selves and Twinkies aren't even really cake these days, Zingers is where it's at - but I digress). It's just too important to resist the urge and do what's needed to balance your social media diet.
Block (or if you'd rather the target just shout into the void at you endlessly, Mute) is your friend. So is the Unfollow button. And better yet, you can always replace the people whose content you don't see with better content you do want to see. Is it a bit of effort? Sure, but any sustained, balanced diet where you watch your health is always going to be that way.
The net result? Like a K-Pop idol who is dieting and eating healthy, it'll result in feeling better and being able to do more of what you want to do. You'll spend less time trying to furiously convince someone that your favorite group isn't the "nugu" term they meant to insult them with. You'll not have to watch, at least for longer than it takes to Block, Mute, or Unfollow, the kind of disasters that happen on social media that only last as long as the next mess that happens.
Most of all, you'll just feel better about social media as a whole, and feel safe in the fact that you'll have a feed clear of nonsense and more room for the K-Pop media you do want to consume, like cool cover songs, nothing but idols in suits, or whatever else might catch your eye. K-Pop social media can feel like junk food sometimes - but that doesn't mean you have to feel like finishing off the bag of it when it's placed in front of you.
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