“You are the 5 people you most surround yourself with”
– The Internet
Right now, you may not be able to surround yourself with 5 people. Our social lives have gone all-virtual, so let’s amend that saying to:
“You are the assortment of pages that currently dominate your social media feeds.”
– Me
And do you really want a part of your personality to consist of ‘fake news’ articles claiming that Netflix is responsible for coronavirus, or that snakes have legs…?
I should think not.
Life is too short, and you are too good for that.
One way to combat this is to tidy up and tailor your social media to only include those inspiring, educational or otherwise beneficial things that will have a positive impact on you and your person.
To clean ya feed.
In this article we’ve compiled lists of pages that consistently share quality content that we find adds something to our lives; making scrolling on social media not feel so bad.
We’ve organised them into the following categories:
News – Irish Culture – Educational – Music Pages – Art Pages – Fashion – Female-Empowerment – Sex-Empowerment
News:
The Happy Broadcast
Sick of reading the news and being paranoid, disappointed or angry? The Happy Broadcast is a news reporter that only reports good news.
Studies show that consuming too much news can be bad for your health. So follow this page instead to find balance amongst the fear-mongering.
Speaking of news…
Waterford Whispers News
Happy news may make you smile, but Waterford Whispers News will make you guffaw.
Including satirical stories on everything from the current and political to broader, everyday-Irish scenarios; the writers at WWN have the amazing ability to spin satirical stories in an outrageously unique and funny way.
Follow their pages for a giggle, when things are appearing all too serious.
Womens Rights News
The media world today is still dominated by men. (Has the movie Anchorman taught us nothing?)
It’s refreshing to see some reports with genuine, relatable female perspectives.
Irish Culture:
Foil, Arms & Hog
These three lads manage to portray Irish culture in a hilariously accurate fashion.
Watch the video below to see them take on the roles of your typical Irish ma’ and da’ during the lockdown.
NIstagrammed
NIstagrammed posts old/vintage photos of times gone by in Ireland. Especially in Northern Ireland.
It’s nice to add a touch of local history to our feed.
New Eire
Any new graffiti that springs up in Ireland, expect to see it on this page.
They also post grafitti that springs up abroad, by Irish artists.
It’s nice to see a picture of Spain or elsewhere and to be able to spot a secret piece of home there.
Gaeilge Vibes
Memes.
As Gaeilge.
Who says the language is dead?
Educational
Science in The Bath
Is there a better place to be educated?
Matthew Shribman is a delightful scientist who isn’t afraid to get his feet wet.
Or his nice shirts, for that matter.
More recently, Matt has been taking part in new live streaming initiative AimHi: to provide free, educational live-stream videos all throughout the lockdown, on various topics (science, philosophy, english, geography). We think this is absolutely wonderful. Watch past streams here. Or simply follow his page for notifications when he goes live!
Merriam Webster
Expanding your vocabulary, one day at a time.
We recommend using these words as a kick-off point to writing or creating something on a regular basis! It’s nice to get some creative prompts in your news feed.
(what do you mean, zephyr is already a song?!)
Dynamic Science
More science facts! Because you don’t know enough about the universe!
Stephen Fry
Why not follow Stephen Fry? Regular book updates and the occasional tie review.
Yes, you read that right.
Music Pages
Fluttertone
We hate to say it, but the days of radio are dead and gone.
That is, unless it’s integrated with Facebook Live to give an immersive, new-age spin to an old medium!
Have they reinvented radio?
Fluttertone are doing great work to promote local artists, by bringing them straight to your FB feed. We’re down!
Marc Rebillet
Musician, comedian, all round entertaining guy. Marc regularly uploads live streams of his completely improvised loop sets. Tackling everything from the silly and absurd to the more movingly serious:
Jacob Collier
Jacob is musical prodigy and all round nice guy. His page is full of whacky wonders relating to the music world. He reminds us of David Byrne.
Hoer.berlin
“Hear Berlin” – online streaming platform for DJs.
These guys were live streaming before it was cool.
Typical Berlin.
Anthony Fantano
Instagram account for YouTube music critic Anthony Fantano. Posts relevant to music and meme culture.
Art Pages
Art Galleries & Publication Pages
Instagram is a wonderful place to include some thought-provoking art amidst your friends selfies.
We’ve included some insta pages below who specialise in curating art into your feed.
@gallerypoulsen
The Instagram account of Gallery Poulsen. The space is set in Copenhagen, Denmark. This page and their website has a fantastic archive of work, including pieces from some of our favourite artists; @uberkunst and @jeanpierreroy.
@IMMAireland
the Instagram account of Ireland’s National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. A great way to stay up to date with exhibitions and artist spotlights. These include Irish and international artists.
@post_vandalism
A curated Instagram collection dedicating itself to linking grafitti aesthetics and concepts with contemporary art. We highly recommend reading the curator, Stephen Burke’s take on post-vandalism.
@subfoldr
An Instagram page which explores “half-digested culture”. This is a great point of reference for the weird and wonderful side of the internet.
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Artists
Individual artists who help brighten up our feeds.
@brechtvandenbroucke
Comic artist and illustrator. Brecht’s work is made up of incredibly detailed acrylic and gouache paintings. He explores a wide array of topics, in both humorous, and satirical ways. What’s not to like?
@richiecluver
On Richie’s website, a critic addresses Instagram’s impact on the art-world:
“A wrecking ball of the status quo”.
“I’ve never seen such a democratising force of nature. Decades of hierarchies have all but washed away…”
This idea is widespread in Richies work.
@ztm_oruam
A favourite of ours at the moment. In his loose painterly style, Mauro Martinez explores internet-based themes.
We also recommend checking out his ‘Sensitive Content’ collection.
@peterdraws
Artist and YouTuber PeterDraws. Follow his page for some incredibly detailed ink drawings. Everything from space station design to dystopian styled architectural drawings.
@oh_de_laval
Oh de Laval breaks down your typical idea of figurative painting and strives to venture “beyond academic professionalism“.
In her Art Manifesto, she states “You should explore old artists’ way of living rather than studying their way of painting”. Interesting.
Architecture
These pages are an aesthetic dream. Your eyes will thank you.
@designboom –
The worlds first online magazine! This is about art, architecture and technology.
@archdaily
Instagram account of Archdaily. A fantastic website to stay up to date with architecture news from all over the world. Wether you’re into Building projects, environmental issues relating to design, or new emerging technologies, Archdaily is the place for you.
@superarchitects –
In their own words: “a platform empowering the creative youth + design community”, and that’s exactly what they do.
A great page to find emerging artists and designers.
@architerror –
Away from all the seriousness is architerror, who explore the dark side of architecture.
Spooky.
#InstaFashion
You probably all already follow your own favourite and individual insta fashion pages, but here’s some universal pages that we think particularly stand out.
@benjaminseidler –
Designer and illustrator Benjamin Seidler creates digital collages that give our favorite movies high-fashion updates, using pieces from real, current collections.
Somewhere in between inspiring and hilarious.
@Late2n –
Local alert!!!
Late2n is a Waterford-based fashion brand with a super fresh, modern aesthetic.
@pauseonline
More celeb-oriented. Pause is a magazine showing all current fashion trends.
@nclgallery –
One for the men. Because fashion is too often seen as a ‘feminine’ word.
Dare to be fashionable, guys!
@sustainablefashiondublin
“Promoting sustainability while having the lols”.
This page is a wonder for promoting sustainable fashion ideas. They often have events and most recently have been hosting virtual flea markets!
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Female-Empowerment
Shona
The Survival Kit for Girls.
Shona is the guidance I wished I had as a confused girl growing up in a taboo society. The work they’re doing is absolutely incredible and I’d really endorse sharing this page with any young women you may know; to help and inspire them to grow into fierce feminist leaders.
@Womenofillustration
Gorgeous. Modern. Relatable. Inspiring. Aesthetic.
Follow immediately.
@Womenfromhistory
As well as being a page full of gyooorgeous females, this page gives lengthy, detailed descriptions about the women mentioned in each picture and their history.
Womanhood delivered from a very zoomed-out, historical perspective.
@Lucindaggg_
Lucinda is a breath of fresh air in the fashion/art world. Her page is full of informative and positive information about topics such as, sustainable design, body positivity and mental health issues.
Sex-Empowerment
Alphachanneling
Gorgeous illustrations of intimacy.
“Utopian Erotic“
Virgin & Martyr
This is an Italian page, but we recommend following anyway, as the images speak for themselves.
There’s is some seriously impressive photography on this page; all taboo-breaking and body-empowering.
Fausto Serafini
Female film photographer. Serafini works with the female figure as her subject incorporating different elements from kink culture.
It adds a little depth to know that these erotic photos of females, are taken BY a female.
@watts.hot
More of an exclusive club, this one. It’s a private instagram account, so you have to request to follow.
But once you’re in, it’s worth it!;-)
That’s it for now in our directory of delights! Contact us if you think we’ve missed anything, as we’re thinking of keeping this page updated on the regular, to help people find the best and most beneficial pages to follow amidst the mess that is social media!
Until next week,
Goddamn! 