Let's get personal.
I knew who Essena O'Neill was before this whole Instagram, social media backlash event. The reason I knew who she was was that over the spring and summer I was getting into a plant-based diet, and Essena O'Neill was a vegan YouTuber. I really liked her videos. They were always well-shot and she seemed interesting and a pretty genuine person with concern for the planet and her health.
I also kind of forgot about her. So, imagine my surprise, when all of the sudden every major media outlet (there was even a story about this on the "Buzzfeed" snapchat story. Like what?) including "Good Morning America" is talking about her. For a story that came out of one teenage girl retiring from social media in a sense, the fact that this story has blown up as much as it has on social media is an ironic—but not unexpected—end.
When I heard she was quitting social media, all I could think was "bold move." I knew her as a social media personality. How can you be a social media personality if you aren't on social media?
What Essena was talking about was being fake on social media, and how her childhood was robbed from her because she was so fixated on being another person for the camera. I cannot imagine a world where that was my reality. I didn't get involved in social media until I was in my later teens, and had a more developed sense of myself. I cannot imagine having my adolescence cataloged the way Essena's was. Her retroactively edited Instagram captions really captured how she thought about herself. It was scary to see a young girl talk about herself like that.
Social media has become such an integral part of the world today that it is almost ridiculous to think of a world without it. And while I am proud of Essena for recognizing that this wasn't what was making her happy, I can't help but feel like she is being assuming with her message. She has had a revelation for herself, and that is amazing. Essena, go you! I am so happy that you have found your happiness. But some people really do find happiness in social media. People enjoy sharing, and can do so in a positive way--for them. Deciding that social media is all bad is a bit prescriptivist, and not necessarily what other people need. Some people find a lot of strength in posting photos or videos of themselves, because they did not have the self-love or self-confidence to do so before. Some people have found their community through social media, found a way to talk about the issues that affect them.
This story has made me think about how I use social media. And I am definitely going to continue using social media, for the simple reason that I enjoy it. Does it take time out of my day that I could be using somewhere else? Sometimes yes, but I don't use social media for anyone other than myself.
Essena, I'm glad you've found your happiness. Be a game changer, like your website says. I'm going to check Instagram for dog photos, because that is my happiness.
To close, here is a video of one of my favorite body-positivity YouTubers, Matt Joseph Diaz. He says some things better than I ever could.
