About a week ago, "Instagram celebrity" Essena O'Neill deleted 2,000 photos, renamed her account to "Social Media Is Not Real Life," and changed the captions on existing photos with truthful anecdotes about posts she was paid for, how many tries it took to get the shot, and the pressures she felt to look perfect. She shared her concerns about everyone's need for social validation and approval, living life by the number of likes on a photo. On one hand, this kind of outcry can be viewed as slightly overdramatic or just a different kind of need for attention. On the other, being in a similar position as a "lifestyle" blogger, it is so refreshing to hear someone admit how over the top and addicting the world of social media and constant interaction/communication can become.
I've talked about it before, but sometimes it worries me how much time and effort we put into creating an image that reflects perfection to impress others. For the most part, I try not to let myself get too absorbed in the world of fashion and curating a Pinterest-approved lifestyle...I work hard to connect a lot of my style-focused posts to a story that gives it some dimension because for me, there is much more to blogging than taking photos in different outfits every day and hoping people will approve. The thing that keeps me coming back is the challenge of creating a good story because first and foremost, I peg myself as a writer and it's important to me to make sure I never let the "likes" (or lack thereof) dictate how I live my life.
With that said, I like to shed light on the imperfect moments as a reminder that all of those gorgeous graffiti wall backgrounds and capturing every moment Truman Show style on on Snapchat are actually very small in comparison to the bigger picture.
Here are a few recent funny moments between the "usable" shots...aka blogging bloopers, volume 5:
What do you think of the social media addiction?
Do you support Essena's decision to quit everything in search of something worth real value?
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