A reflection on attention, mental wellbeing, and why supporting creators matters more than we think.
A few years ago, during lockdown, I discovered something about social media that completely changed the way I use it.
At the time, I was living alone and, like many people, spending far more time online than I normally would. I had a friend I’d met in the Caribbean (hence the Antigua photo, where I lived for 6 months) who was very interested in conspiracy theories and alternative news stories. Every day he would send me videos, articles, and social media posts that he thought were important.
Out of courtesy, I watched them. Not because I agreed with them or even particularly enjoyed them, but because he had taken the time to send them and it felt rude not to.
At first, it didn’t seem like a big deal.
But after a while, I noticed something changing.
My social media feeds began filling with more of the same. More anger. More outrage. More conflict. More stories designed to provoke a reaction. Even though I didn’t believe most of what I was watching, I realised it was still affecting me.
The constant negativity felt heavy.
And at a time when my mental health was already something I was consciously trying to protect, I knew I needed to make a change.
So I had an honest conversation with my friend. I explained that I wasn’t going to watch those videos anymore. Not because I didn’t value our friendship, but because I needed to be more careful about what I was allowing into my head.
And something interesting happened.
Gradually, my feeds began to change too.
The anger started to disappear and the outrage became less frequent. Instead, I began seeing more travel, more kindness, more creativity, more stories that inspired me, and more of the things I genuinely wanted to spend time with.
At the time, I didn’t fully understand why.
Now I do.
The more we interact with something online, the more social media platforms assume we want to see similar content. That interaction doesn’t just mean commenting or liking. It can be watching, lingering, clicking, sharing, saving, or repeatedly consuming similar posts.
Without meaning to, I had trained my feed.
Now, quite consciously, I train it differently.
These days I have a couple of folders saved on Instagram. One is called “Friends” and the other is called “Things I Support.”
Whenever I see a post from a friend running a small business, creating something meaningful, or sharing work I admire, I hit the like button and save it. If I see content that reflects the kind of world I want to see more of, I do exactly the same.
Not because I necessarily need to revisit it later.
But because I want to tell the algorithm:
More of this, please.
It’s a tiny action. A second or two at most.
Yet it has transformed what appears in my feeds and, perhaps more importantly, it has made social media enjoyable again.
It also made me realise something about myself.
Like many people, I’ve always been a bit of a lurker online. I read. I watch. I enjoy. But I don’t always tell people. And recently I read that many people in our age group consume far more content than they actively engage with. That certainly sounded familiar.
But as someone who creates content myself, I’ve come to appreciate how much those tiny signals matter.
A like.
A save.
A comment.
A share.
Not because they boost our egos.
But because they tell us that something we’ve created connected with someone else.
And sometimes that matters more than we realise.
Particularly now.
Because there is another shift happening online.
Increasingly, when we search for information, AI provides an answer before we ever reach the people who originally created the content. It’s convenient, and I use it myself, but it also means many independent creators, writers, photographers, bloggers, and travellers are finding it harder for their work to be discovered.
Their experiences are still helping shape the answers people receive.
But fewer people may ever reach the original story.
And that’s a shame.
Because some of the most valuable travel advice I’ve ever found hasn’t come from a summary. It’s come from someone’s lived experience. Someone telling me what it actually felt like to be there. The mistakes they made. The surprises they found. The things no guidebook would ever think to mention.
That’s why, if there’s a creator whose work you genuinely value, it’s worth finding small ways to support them.
That doesn’t necessarily mean spending money. It might simply mean liking a post. Saving it. Leaving a comment. Sharing it with a friend. Reading the article rather than stopping at the summary. Using an affiliate link if they have provided one.
Small actions. But meaningful ones.
And perhaps that’s the wider reflection here. We often think social media happens to us. That we’re simply passive consumers of whatever appears on our screens. But we have more influence than we realise. We help shape our feeds through what we consume. We help shape the internet through what we support. And we help shape the kind of voices that continue to exist through the attention we choose to give them.
So perhaps this week’s reflection is simply this.
Pay attention to what you’re feeding.
Your social feeds.
Your mind.
Your energy.
Because whatever we repeatedly give our attention to tends to grow.
And if there’s a creator whose work makes you smile, inspires you, helps you, or brightens a difficult day, perhaps let them know. Small acts of encouragement have a habit of creating more of the things we say we want to see in the world.
So, have you ever noticed your social media feeds changing based on what you spend time engaging with? Leave a Comment below to let me know.
This Week on YouTube
The solo travel fears series continues this week with another common concern: fear of eating alone.
For many women, eating alone feels more intimidating than the travelling itself. So this week I’m exploring where that fear comes from and why it often feels much bigger before we do it than afterwards. You can watch it for yourself HERE.
And if you’d like everything in one place, my latest long-form video brings together all of the biggest fears women tell me they have before taking their first solo trip. Safety, loneliness, getting lost, judgement, eating alone and much more.
If you’re considering travelling solo, it’s a great place to start. Click THIS LINK for all the details.
Throwback Travel Corner
Since we’re talking about eating alone, this week’s throwback is one of my most popular practical travel posts.
If dining solo feels daunting, I share the things that helped me become comfortable sitting down for a meal by myself anywhere in the world.
Complete Guide to Eating Alone While Travelling
Thank you for being here — whether you read every word or just dip in now and then.
Until next time,
Safe travels,
Sue x
This may contain affiliate links. If you choose to use them, I may receive a small commission — thank you. You’ll never pay more, and my opinions are always my own.
P.S. Helpful travel resources I genuinely use can always be found below:
🏠 For accommodation, I use Expedia and Booking.com primarily. They have their own loyalty schemes which is easy to progress through the levels for better discounts and inclusions.
🚍 For tours and activities, my preferred supplier is Get Your Guide.
🗺️ For multi day or week tours, check out G Adventures. I used them for trips in Costa Rica, Peru, and Galapagos.
🧳 For luggage storage on your travels, I recommend the service by Bounce.
