Australian Social Media starlet Essena ONeill broke down and decided to tell the world what it is really like to be addicted to likes, clicks, shares and upvotes. She has deleted most of her social media accounts and has vowed to change the way she uses the remaining ones in order to do something more meaningful.
In her own words:
I had everything I ever wanted. Now I'm here and I see how contrived, fake and forced consistently proving to the world 'how amazing my life/body/self is". I spent everyday looking at a screen, viewing and comparing myself to others. It's easier to look at shiny and pretty things that appear happy than stopping and just getting real with yourself. Social media only became great for me because of the amount of effort I put in trying to portray this 'perfect' person, being born into the flesh I have and sharing emotional parts of my life. Being social media famous is a very unattainable thing for majority of people viewing this. I was attracted to the idea of being liked and of value. I put my value in numbers, not real life people, moments or my natural passions of art, writing... Posting on instagram consumed me. I can't you how beautiful life is without a phone, without social media, without comparing, or likes or followers. We are not followers, we are beings of individuality and love. I have never felt so free. I will be making a lot more videos talking more about what happened 'behind' the image for a lot of these 'perfect' photos. www.letsbegamechangers.com/videos
This is the last video on YouTube. I don't want to support a social sharing sight that makes billions off advertisements I don't agree with, plus the major point of focus being views and subscribers, not the message or ideas for positive global change. I spent hours watching perfect girls online, wishing I was them. Then when I was 'one of them' I still wasn't happy, content or at peace with myself. Stripping away distractions made me question everything I did online. I want you to do the same.
Of the videos I have left, only still here to make a statement and for vegan inspiration.
Her video certainly made an impact:
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