Social media and Essena O'Neill

I've read many varying viewpoints about Instagram model Essena O'Neill and her intentions to leave her social media media life behind as it is "dishonest and contrived".

Oneill during happier times

I don't fully agree or disagree with O'neill. I can empathise with the pressures she faces. After all, I'm an active user of social media myself and there were also times I struggled with presenting what I thought should be "the correct image" to others. I thought that today I'd just list down all the viewpoints I've seen surrounding the issue of social media (including some from O'neill herself) and give my personal take on them.

1. The persona you present on social media is not an accurate representation of your true self.

It is true that most people would only present the best version (or in some instances, a fake version of themselves on Instagram). Most people would not broadcast their family problems and insecurities in public? In most cases, we don't speak to the people on our social media platforms in real life so all you know about them would be their amazing holidays in exotic lands, brand new cars and clothes and their sweet love lives. We then tend to start comparing the "highlight" reel of other people's lives to our own behind-the-scenes footages. It is inevitable for people to feel demoralised.

That said, the internet can be a brutal place. Behind anonymity, the assholes of the world come to life, because behind their computer screens nobody can slap them across the face for telling you you've aged, you're ugly, you're fat. There's simply so much hatred and ignorance on the internet. Some people (like yours truly, heheh) have learned to happily utilise the delete/block functions on Facebook and Instagram, but for younger people it can be very detrimental to their self-esteem to be judged by strangers every single time they post on Instagram.

Xiaxue is famous for 99 things but posting up all natural photos on her blog ain't one, but she's still more famous than most of us!

I personally feel that for O'neill to spend 50 hours touching up a single Instagram post sounds like an exaggeration but to be honest she isn't the first person I know to photoshop, filter and edit their photos. And I can completely understand why people do that. Why post something that will invite nasty comments from nasty people? There are people who won't agree with this and think this is deception on the social media influencers' part but hey, maybe people wouldn't be so uncomfortable posting bare-faced, all natural photos on the internet if there weren't so many cyberbullies around sullying everyone's internet experience? Just saying. Teach people not to bully, not chastise the people who try to avoid getting bullied! 

2. You choose your own social media identity- by that token, it was O'neill who picked the wrong choice, it is not the fault of social media.

I think people forget that many social media influencers like Essena O'neill are very young- O'neill herself is only 19. Many of us won't truly figure out who were are until well into our mid or even late-twenties. Oneill sounds to me like a rather confused teenager- she was drawn into the prospects of fame and popularity that social media could give her, got overwhelmed by it, couldn't not handle the pressure of being in the public eye and crumbled (if her ordeal is real and not staged, that is. I will talk about this in point 3). 

In my opinion, if used correctly social media can be great tool for finding out who you really are. I blog, and broadcasting a message over social media is so different from engaging in normal day-to-day conversations with your friends. Online, you have no fixed target audience and you're free from the pressures that come with real-life conversation. You don't have to tailor your speech to fit the topic at hand- you can write about whatever topic you wish whenever you want. It has helped me formulate my thoughts, exercise responsibility with my freedom of speech and express myself in a way that would be most well-received by my peers. 

This, unfortunately, is also where a lot of people have gotten it so horribly wrong. They forget that freedom of speech also comes with responsibility and they out themselves as being hateful and bigoted. I think I've lost my main point in all my ramblings but the bottomline is many people still haven't figured who they are yet, and it is okay to make mistakes on social media and learn (just not unforgiveable mistakes like being a racist or sexist on Facebook). 

3. Social media influencers like Essena O'Neill should just get a real job.

That would depend on what you define as a "real job", but the fact remains that a lot of these social media models and influencers are using their looks, writing and/or marketing skills to make a living off the internet. In fact it has become such a lucrative industry that has made so many businessmen and women.

Some companies are less ethical than others but social media still presents a great money-making opportunity.

Call them attention-seekers or whatever you want, they are using unconventional methods to earn a living and that in itself is a talent I personally respect. Times have evolved- it is no longer necessary in this day and age to be armed with a law, engineering or medical degree to make big bucks. You can do so with the correct marketing skills and street-smarts. If you don't agree with it, you have the choice to stop following them online.

And also, you may think it is very narcissistic for bloggers like Xiaxue to label themselves "influencers" (ok lah, to be fair Xiaxue didn't call herself that), but I disagree. If the stuff you put on social media was not to be taken seriously, or words and pictures didn't have any power, then tell me why countries like China and North Korea are so afraid of it? Why does censorship exist? Why were so many teenagers driven to suicide after experiencing bullying on cyberspace? If you think the messages you broadcast to cyberspace have no real life repercussions then you're extremely ignorant and so, so wrong.

Coming back to Essena O'Neill, there are two possible explanations, in my opinion, as to why she pulled that stunt: 

- It could genuinely be that she crumbled under the pressure of being a public figure and wanted to send out a positive message for once, or

- It is another publicity stunt to attract eyeballs worldwide and get people to give her money.

If it is the first, then I cannot comment about how well her crying and dramatic acts were taken by the public, but her message has definitely resonated with many people. Once again this is the power of social media and she's using the very platform to expose its flaws. Even if it is the second, I feel it is incredibly opportunistic and smart. I certainly won't be giving her any money since I deeply suspect this is all a grand money-making opportunity.

Ok, so this concludes my jimble jumble of thoughts about social media. :)