[imagesource: Instagram / @dogsworkingfromhome]

Not to come across as too negative, but the world is a bit of a hot mess right now.

Social media isn’t entirely to blame, but it’s a scourge on our society and the true damage it has caused will only be fully understood years down the line.

But you’re not quitting Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or TikTok, so the best we can do is suggest some accounts that might slow down the doomscrolling and bring a little joy to your life.

The Guardian has put together a list of 50 such accounts but we’ve narrowed it down to eight, starting with accounts that bring positivity.

Good News Network, Twitter:

If, like me, your Twitter feed feels perfectly calibrated to ruin your emotional resilience, the Good News Network exists to counter that. It only posts happy, fun news stories. None of them are essential, but doesn’t the idea of non-essential news sound great?

Happy Eco News, Instagram:

Every day for the past four years, Happy Eco News has posted five hopeful, uplifting stories about the environment. They’re not all topical (one recent example was just a description of cassowaries), but it’s good, wholesome content nonetheless.

 

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A post shared by Happy Eco News (@officialhappyeconews)

In amongst the mire, animals really do provide respite.

If you haven’t gone down the Instagram wormhole of cat videos, you haven’t lived.

Right, animals and nature.

The Asher House, Facebook:

Lee Asher rescues all sorts of animals, giving them a wonderful life at his beautiful estate sanctuary in Oregon. He’s an amazing guy with a genuine love for the animals, a huge personality and a sense of humour.

Dogs Working From Home, Instagram

If you like looking at photos of dogs looking at laptops, some of them while wearing glasses, then this Instagram account will give you what you want to an almost scary degree of accuracy. The account doesn’t update frequently, but it’s usually a doozy when it does.

Cabins in the Woods, Instagram

Incidentally, while you’re planning to run away, here is an Instagram account full of the most beautifully designed woodland cabins you will ever find. You could lose hours here, in both admiration and jealousy.

 

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A post shared by Cabins In The Woods (@cabinsinthewoods)

For those who enjoy a laugh or a strange distraction from everyday life, social media can deliver the goods if you know where to look.

Enbiggen, TikTok:

The effort that goes into maintaining the Enbiggen TikTok must be phenomenal. It’s a series of beautifully constructed Rube Goldberg machines that, as they unfold, play note-perfect recreations of famous songs. Staggering.

This is best understood with an example:

@enbiggen THIS IS MARCH! 🏀 Watch on CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV all month long. @cbssports ♬ original sound – Enbiggen

Tatsuya Tanaka, Instagram

A miniaturist who makes entire worlds from everyday objects. A recent favourite is the escalator made from a sandwich.

Yes, it’s as absurd as it sounds:

 

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A post shared by Tatsuya Tanaka 田中達也 (@tanaka_tatsuya)

To finish, we go from the beautiful to the horrific with 70s Dinner Party, Twitter:

A collection of genuinely monstrous food photographs from 1970s recipe books, including Frankfurter stew, illuminated gelatine, and something called “celery-stuffed celery”. It is amazing we’re not all dead.

This was a thing somebody cooked in the 1970s:

Surprise mutha fuckas! pic.twitter.com/xbaQ0FmGOk

— 70s Dinner Party (@70s_party) December 11, 2015

It’s enough to put you off eating your greens for life.

Here’s hoping you manage to find pockets of joy dotted among the wreckage.

[source:guardian]