internet

I’m not proud to type any of this. Not proud at all. I wish I could forget that I ever nearly let Instagram ruin my relationship.

Internet trolls and their fat insults (no matter how creative) don’t make me cry. There's power in reclaiming fat insults!

Users exchange tips about restricting food intake, and there’s a lot of “thinspiration,” a phrase for photographs of women with thigh gaps and angular bodies. So many bones.

Hello. I am writing to you from a place of rage over the House of Representatives’ misguided attempts to reform health care.

If we aren’t going to be honest about how we really are, why are we asking?

I’m about to be in the midst of a depressive episode. At times like these, I’ve learned to take a step back from social media. While I do ultimately believe social media is a force for good, a means through which we can connect to, learn more about, and inform one another, there’s a real problem with how mental illness is portrayed there.

I scrolled through my Instagram feed to catch a photo of a friend’s first tattoo. It was an abstract design that paid homage to her wedding venue, a distinctive historic site in her home state. The tattoo seemed sweet at first, but then I read the photo caption. My friend had gotten inked to honor the child she lost in miscarriage.

There is a danger in the rise of affirmations and other empowering online content. Some types of affirmations aim to inspire a sense of independence, but in reality only invalidate the struggles of the person who reads them.