With over half a million followers on Instagram and not many far behind on Twitter, Tumblr and Youtube, Australian teenager Essena O’Neill decided to quit all forms of social media in order to promote something that she felt was much more important: living for herself instead of for self-promotion.
O’Neill strove for approval from her followers, valuing the praise and popularity she was getting from her followers rather than happiness in the content she was producing.
This topic has been all over the news and online, but whether or not what Essena O’Neill is doing is genuine or not -- because that’s a completely different topic in itself -- I think what the media is missing is how important it is to allow children to just be children. The problem with social media is not social media in and of itself; it is more about the way in which we use it.
One of the main things that O’Neil has been stressing over this past week is her desire to have the prefect body, the perfect hair, to be just that, perfect. But with that comes the need for self-validation. All of this need to be perfect at such a young age is where the problem stemmed. After deleting over 2,000 pictures from her Instagram, she decided to leave a few select pictures and re-caption them with the “real captions.” One picture which now reads, “A 15-year-old girl that calorie restricts and excessively exercises is not goals. Anyone addicted to social media fame like I once was, is not in a conscious state,” and another which reads, “I just want younger girls to know this isn’t candid life, or cool or inspirational. its contrived perfection made to get attention,” capture what Essena O’Neill is trying to do perfectly.
O’Neill isn’t trying to demonize social media in any way, she is just trying to create a space for young girls who are struggling to find reality among societal expectations. In a world that strives so hard for young girls to grow up too fast, O’Neill wants to make sure that girls know that they have the option to not let social media take over their lives in a negative way.
Of course she is aware that not everyone is in her situation, with such a large following however by using her platform her message is able reach more people.
While social media is amazing in the way that it connects and inspires people, O’Neill also brings up the fact that projecting goals onto someone and idolizing people are extreme negative parts of being internet famous. When young girls idolize someone online, it is more often than not for superficial reasons; and because the age of young girls on social media is becoming lower and lower, it is important to point out to these young girls that while praising someone on Instagram is important, as it promotes positivity, being present in yourself should be of the utmost importance.
With her new website, www.letsbegamechangers.com, O’Neill aims to focus on being present, veganism, unity, love, connection, and self-expression in order to ground herself in what matters to her rather than what other people seek from her.
