“Social media, especially how I used it, isn’t real. It’s contrived images and edited clips ranked against each other. It’s a system based on social approval, likes, validation in views, and success in followers. It’s perfectly orchestrated self absorbed judgment.”
–Essena O’Neill
Could you imagine only being nineteen years old with over half a million followers on Instagram? How about also having 200,000 subscribers on a YouTube channel and Tumblr? On top of your success and popularity, you receive free gifts and products from companies that are practically begging you to promote them. You have endless business deals being thrown your way on a daily basis. Oh, and don’t forget- you have millions of people wanting to be YOU. You can achieve this dream by simply posting a picture.
http://www.teenvogue.com/story/essena-oneill-breaks-down-her-perfect-makeup-selfies
Nowadays, it seems like this is the ideal state of success for many young adults. By being Instagram famous, we receive money/ gifts from well-known businesses as well as validation from the public. How much easier can it get? According to the media star, Essena O’Neill– the more popular you get, the harder this type of career becomes.
Before Essena revealed the cold truth about her social media career to the public, she was everything stated above and more. Her glamorous lifestyle on Instagram featured a life of luxury, beauty and pure happiness. Her Instagram was filled with desirable photos such as bikini posts on the beach promoting her model-like figure or jaw- dropping selfies that displayed her top of the line make-up. As she climbed the scale of fame and fortune, Essena ended it all by speaking out to her followers stating, “social media is not real life” and “I was lost, with serious problems so beautifully hidden.”
In November 2015, Essena released a video of herself in complete distress claiming that the life she posted on social media was all a fluke. She explains,
“If anything my social media addiction, perfectionist personality and low self esteem made my career. Over- sexualisation, perfect food photos, perfect travel vlogs- it is textbook how I got famous. Sex sells, people listen to pretty blondes, I just happened to talk about veganism a trending thing non YouTube.”
She continues by sharing her old Instagram posts that once promoted her incredible life and revealed the true story behind each picture. In one post she explains how she once had acne but decided to cover it all up by applying a lot of makeup. The “old” Essena was pleasing the public in hopes of receiving thousands of likes. However, the “new” Essena realizes that by basing your happiness on aesthesis, it will damage your spirit.
The media star that once pushed a fake lifestyle on the public now realizes that the mental and emotional suffering is not worth it. Recently, Essena has launched her new website known as, “Let’s Be Game Changers” which teaches the public about the vicious game that social media plays.
Click the link to find out more about Essena O’Neill: The Model Who Quit Social Media
Leave a response