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Shelby Martin

Instructor Hamner

HUM 1130-100

Term Paper

19 Oct. 2018

“Essena O’Neil Quits Instagram Claiming Social Media ‘Is Not Real Life’

What we use every day could be the most harmful and self detrimental part of our day.

Our attitudes, behaviors and relationships can all be influenced through social media. It is a

potentially dangerous medium through which young people develop misconstrued ideas of what

adult life is like. It depicts distortions in body image, success, and what general happiness

amounts to. These false ideas that are represented to young minds through social media

contribute to low self esteem, jealousy, depression, and anxiety. Whether you participate in social

media to communicate with others, inspire ideas, or seek entertainment, you are automatically

subjected to its artificial influence fueled by likes, comments, and views.

Social media can distort the way not only our lives look, but our bodies as well. With

every angle, contrast, brightness, color, and shape adjustment, we display a false reality to

viewers. When you look at a picture posted and perceive the abs that you don’t have, flawless

skin that you don’t have, or nice clothes that you don’t have, you are subjected to feelings of self

loathing, self pity, or even jealousy. In Elle Hunt’s piece called, Essena O’neil Quits Instagram

Claiming Social Media ‘Is Not Real Life’, Essena talks about the truth behind her posts. She edits

the caption on a post of her in a bikini to read, “…stomach sucked in, strategic pose, pushed up

boobs. I just want younger girls to know this isn’t candid life, or cool or inspirational…”

Children and young adults are more perceptible to influence because their brains, personality,

and individuality are still developing. Wishing to be or look like someone else can distract you

from your responsibilities, goals, and relationships. As the image of false perfection is constantly
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viewed it can cause unnecessary comparisons that can be detrimental to your relationships as

well.

Not only viewing distorted images can influence your thoughts and behavior. Posting

contorted or edited images can have you constantly seeking validation from people who hardly

give your post the time of day or people who read into every post for inspiration, judgment, or

jealousy. Essena also describes that her provocative posts are, “… contrived perfection made to

get attention”. Seeking attention to a part of you that isn’t real is an unhealthy lifestyle. Essena

states she was “consumed” by the attention she was getting and would “obsessively check the

like count” on her posts. She was focusing so much time and energy on a fictitious part of her

life.

Seeking validation from a social media post can be thought of as seeking happiness.

Looking at the number of view or likes on a post can cause a brief moment of happiness if the

number surpasses one’s standard of many. Looking at that number and being disappointed can

cause shame and doubt for days to those as consumed as Essena O’neil. That number has the

potential to distract young minds from real life responsibilities such as work, school, or family,

and set their mood for the day. A feeling of “I’m not good enough for x amount of likes” could

destroy self confidence enough to inhibit social interaction. For those who are wise enough to

know better may still struggle with how they are perceived on social media. When 2.34 billion

people use social media worldwide (ignitevisibility.com/social-media-statistics/), it is hard not to

feel like your peers will judge you based on the amount of followers you have or amount of likes

you get. This feeling may blind you to the possibility that your peers may be feeling the same

way.

However, there are many people who participate in social media and don’t let it consume

their lives or determine their self worth. Many influences from social media are positive. A post

revealing a personal struggle or embarrassing story may help a follower/ viewer connect with
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one another or inspire them to make a change in their own life. It may also help one feel

emotional freedom in confessing their struggles to their followers. A positive quote posted could

inspire someone to change their situation or help someone else in theirs. Perhaps seeing a weight

loss journey posted on social media could inspire one to do the same. Even a post promoting

your business can positively influence your business reputation and increase sales or profits.

Social media is also a platform to communicate between people who are thousands of miles

apart. A message on social media can create friendships and relationships through a means of

communication that is more comfortable or safe rather than by phone number or face to face.

I feel as there is no way to determine if the influences caused by social media are mostly

bad or mostly good. Perhaps the idea of letting yourself be influenced by something as artificial

as social media is bad. The priorities of social media users are unknown to everyone else but

each user. Perhaps if social media is a top priority that consumes your life and defines your

career, then it has positively influenced your life. If social media makes you jealous of others,

unappreciative of what you have, or not accepting of yourself then it has negatively influenced

your life. Perhaps if you recognize the detrimental effects it can have and recognize what

boundaries work for you to maintain a life neutrally affected by it, then you are positively

influenced for gaining wisdom for knowing yourself. This brings me to the thought that to be

unaffected by social media, is to not use social media. Further proving to use social media and

not be affected by it is to be ignorant of your own influences. In a society where almost one third

of the planet uses social media, I can conclude the influence, good, bad, or not at all, is

determined by the user.