Because doomscrolling isn’t a hobby and “personal brand” isn’t a personality
Welcome to the She Zine Mag crash course in reclaiming your feed. This isn’t another “going viral” guide and we don’t hold the secrets to “posting at peak engagement times.” We use social media on our own (lazy) terms and we’re here to help you do the same. Whether you’re an artist, organizer, loudmouth, or lowkey meme hoarder, we’re here to help you make your corner of the internet feel like home (without burning out in the process).
1. Curate Like a Weirdo, Not a Brand Manager
Stop trying to look like a curated ad campaign, or even your favourite influencer. Your social presence doesn’t need a grid aesthetic or colour palette unless that genuinely brings you joy. Post your mess. Post your magic. Post the blurry picture from the punk show and the half-finished embroidery you forgot in your tote bag. Social media doesn’t have to be a portfolio — it can be a sketchbook.
2. Unfollow People Who Make You Feel Like Shit
This is your permission slip. You don’t owe anyone a follow, especially if their posts trigger comparison, imposter syndrome, or existential dread. Curate your feed for inspiration and connection, not guilt and FOMO. That includes influencers, former classmates, exes, and yes — even your old crush who got weirdly into NFTs.
3. Post Like No One’s Refreshing
You’re not a content machine. You’re a person. The best posts are often the ones you almost didn’t share — the vulnerable, the funny, the “is this anything?” moments. Share your process, your questions, your late-night ideas. Give less polished, more punk.
4. Reclaim the Comments Section
Use your comments like an open mic. Hype up your friends, start a weird little conversation, leave a haiku, drop a hot take. Social media doesn’t have to be a performance — it can be a group chat with better fonts.
5. Pick Your Platforms With Intention
Not every space is built for you. Some are corporate surveillance farms wrapped in pastel UI. Some are actually kind of great. Choose the ones that align with your politics, your energy level, and your community. BlueSky for brain dumps? Tumblr for nostalgia spirals? Pinterest for moodboarding the revolution? Go where it feels good — and ditch the rest.
6. Take Breaks Without Apologies
You don’t owe your followers your presence 24/7. Step away. Touch grass. Knit a scarf. Write in your journal. Social media will be here when you get back — and if it’s not, maybe that’s the best case scenario.
7. Use It as a Tool, Not a Mirror
It’s easy to let likes and shares define your worth. Don’t. Your voice matters even when the algorithm doesn’t notice. Use social media to document, connect, and build — not to prove yourself to invisible strangers.
Tools Worth Trying
You don’t have to raw-dog the algorithm. The right tools can make social media less of a dopamine slot machine and more of a useful extension of your actual life. Think of these not as “growth hacks” (gross) but as protective charms, creative prompts, and little pieces of digital resistance.
Because you don’t need another “download TikTok analytics” listicle — these are tools that actually make your feeds (and your brain) better.
- Feedbin — RSS with a clean, customizable interface. Subscribe to blogs, newsletters, and feeds without the noise.
- Are.na — Visual research + idea organization. Feels like Pinterest, but for people who read books.
- Fraidycat — Browser extension for following people across platforms without getting sucked into the algorithm.
- Mastodon / Bluesky — Decentralized, community-first platforms where your timeline is what you make of it.
- Later — Post scheduling and analytics without the influencer slime. Useful for keeping your projects moving.
- Notion / Obsidian — Not social, but powerful for building your own archive of links, quotes, and posts you actually want to keep.
- OneSec — App that forces you to pause before opening social apps — a literal breath between you and the scroll.
The Bottom Line:
Social media can suck — but it doesn’t have to. If we treat it less like a billboard and more like a bulletin board, we can create something better. Something weirder. Something real. The New Girl Army isn’t here to go viral. We’re here to build community, one radical post at a time.
That isn’t to say that you shouldn’t use your platform for the important things. To see the important things. To say the important stuff. To be aware of what’s happening in the world around you. But that doesn’t have to be an obsession. Muting accounts, paying attention to how long you’ve been doomscrolling and setting time limits,or just noticing when your shoulders tense isn’t avoidance. It’s survival.
Got a hot tip for a platform we should check out? Want to submit your own social media rebellion manifesto? Hit us up or tag @shezinemagazine. Let’s make the internet fun again.
AXO (she/her) is a multidisciplinary creator, editor, and builder of feminist media ecosystems based in Toronto. She is the founder of She Zine Mag, Side Project Distro, BBLGM Club, and several other projects under the AXO&Co umbrella — each rooted in DIY culture, creative rebellion, and community care. Her work explores the intersection of craft, technology, and consciousness, with an emphasis on handmade ethics, neurodivergent creativity, and the politics of making. She is an advocate for accessible creativity and the power of small-scale cultural production to spark social change. Her practice merges punk, print, and digital media while refusing to separate the emotional from the practical. Above all, her work invites others to build creative lives that are thoughtful, defiant, and deeply handmade.
