Taylor Swift’s advice on turning 30 is surprisingly refreshing

Kat O'Connor

Taylor Swift has some pretty sound advice for us 1994 babies

I turned 30 over the weekend and have been feeling surprisingly okay about it. Any of my friends who are older than me have said your thirties are the best years, so I’m feeling hopeful rather than miserable over a new decade.

Another person who has made me feel better about this new decade is Taylor Swift. The All Too Well singer wrote an article about turning 30 for Elle in 2019. I was 25 when it was published but I remember reading Swift’s advice and reflections on her 30 years of life.

I re-read the piece this weekend and it was surprisingly reassuring. In the piece, Swift speaks about the importance of stepping away from social media.

“I learned to block some of the noise”

I adore social media and spend so much time on Instagram, but as Swift says, it can be incredibly draining and damaging. Too much time online can chip away at your confidence, something I’ve noticed more as I get older. I’ll constantly compare myself to others and criticise myself for not achieving certain goals like buying a house or getting engaged.

Swift writes: “Social media can be great, but 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.

She explained that she has turned off her comments in a bid to protect herself from trolls and haters.

But she also blocks people who don’t make her feel good about herself which is something we should all do. If you’re following someone who isn’t making you feel good then simply unfollow or mute them.

“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.

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“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,” Swift shared.

We could all do with stepping away from social media more often and it’s something I’ll attempt in my thirties.

Culling Instagram is another thing I’ll do because the impact some posts can have on us mentally is worrying.

Why follow someone who doesn’t make you feel good about yourself? Less time on Instagram means less comparing yourself to others and that’s something we could all benefit from.

But you know I’ll still be glued to the app waiting for Swift to announce Reputation (Taylor’s Version).