Essena O'Neil's departure from social media paired with her confession states to prove that virtual reality is in fact not real. (shocker i know). Social media has the ability to truly globalize the world as it is a great means of staying connected with friends, family, people of interest and those within the media at the simple touch of a screen.
O'neil was recognized as Insta famous as she allowed her profile to become a window into a life which was merely a creation. It was a representation of who she wanted to be ultimately dominating her life and well being. She states that she'd go all day without eating simply to look slimmer for a picture that she would try to manufacture at a place that she had no interest in being. The term "do it for the gram" was never more evident than in her case. However when she had enough she took a stance and decided to detox her self of social media and her addiction. By doing she she began to expose her picture along with other "insta famous" models and accounts, and the lengths that she along with others would go through in order to keep their self-manufactured fame.
Van Dick states that "connectivity derives from a continuous pressure" (Van Dijck 2016), pressure from who some may ask? By the fan base which she had built, the fan base that she had manufactured and who yearned for more of her. Her body became her tool of use and her high was her likes, i won't like getting 500 likes on a picture you post makes you feel better than one that gets 50. However the problem lays is when we derive our own self worth from the fake perception we project onto an audience that has no clue who we really are.
I do agree with Van Dijk's theory of neoliberal economics but the way we as users are influenced by our need to want more. Similar to capitalism Social Media has become a thing where what once was isn't enough and we all try to spread our branches and reach as large an audience as possible. Its cool to be wanted, it's cool to be considered liked and popular. The thing that isn't is allowing our lives behind the screen of a device to hurt who we truly are. So shoutout to Essena for making a genuine step in bettering her life
Hi Nakas,
ReplyDeleteI wanted to begin by saying that I really enjoyed reading your post as I thought we shared very similar viewpoints regarding Essena's exit from social media. I thought your comment about the phrase "do it for the gram" was rather interesting because it directly displays how users on social platforms such as Instagram interact within the platform. It is evident that a variety of users actually remove posts or even go so far as to delete their entire profile when they do not receive the intended amount of likes on a photo. I thought your ability to establish the female body as a tool for enabling patriarchal thoughts about women proves your understanding of the institutional power present within social media.