The Ideology of Perfection

Last year when Australian social media “influencer” Essena O’Neil publically rejected her stardom and the machinery of social media that produced it, she opened up a conversation about the ideology of perfection in which we have become accustomed too. Her infamous YouTube video spoke about topics such as having the ideal life and the epitome of success. She went on to say that having it all on social media is not real life, everything thing, in fact, is edited and manipulated towards a target audience. She states that we do not have to go on social media to “connect” because it is not real. Numbness defines us, and whether this is true or not it is applicable to understanding how the set of idea and ideals that come with social media have in fact altered society. 

According to Jose Van Dijck (2013) “connectivity derives from a continuous pressure – both from peers and technologies – to expand through competition and gain power through strategic alliances.  Platform tactics such as the popularity principle and ranking mechanisms…are firmly rooted in an ideology of that values, hierarchy, competition and a winner takes all mindset”. In reference to O’Neil’s actions, she is opposed to this notion of neoliberal economic principles because she believes that this is the heart of the manipulation process of social media. The connection that is derived from the standards set by society lends platforms such as Instagram to be a producer in popularity and ranking systems which as mentioned above are rooted in the ideology of perfection. 

When on a trip to Thailand, O’Neil made an important discovery about authenticity and the human connection. Holding significance to the world of social media:

“He made it obvious he really wanted to pursue an online relationship. He thought that it would go crazy. He referred to other couples that had been doing it. He said we’d have all this free travel, that if we became a couple we’d both bump up our followers. We could make YouTube videos and make heaps of money”(Parkinson, 2015).

“He referred to a lot of people who were doing just that. And he said in the industry it is not unheard of to do this, that it is actually really smart and that I should think about it as a business proposal” (Parkinson, 2015). 

“Here I am, 18 in Thailand, just trying to have fun with friends and this supermodel wants to propose a ‘business deal’ which is an online relationship. I think that is really sad. I think not a lot of people realize that when you put something online and you have a lot of followers and you are making money from it, it is a business, so why not collaborate with someone else and have a relationship and get more followers?” (Parkinson, 2015). 

The connected world in which we live can be argued to be the most disconnected of all time. Making a relationship from a business deal highlights this idea. That culture; an organization of social exchange, has been staked on neoliberal economic principles such as privatization and free market ideologies. Authenticity is lost and instead the idea of perfection holds power over human happiness fulfillment within a virtual reality.  

Work Cited

Dijck, J. V. (2013). The culture of connectivity: A critical history of social media. New York: Oxford 

University Press. 

Parkinson, H. J. (2015). Instagram star Essena O'Neill calls out fake social media couples. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/nov/11/instagram-star-essena-oneill-fake-social-media-couples