Neoliberal Economic Principles: Essenna O'Neill

I definitely feel that Essena O’Neills recent actions are oppositional to Van Dijck’s neoliberal economic principles of the culture of connectivity. Previously however to her change in social media I believe she was participating in it as her social media pages reflected the principles of Van Dijck’s theory.

Van Dijck discusses neoliberal economic principles of connectivity as a way for both peers and technologies “to expand through competition and gain power through strategic alliances” (pg.21). Platforms such as Instagram stress hierarchy and ideologies that places importance on having the most amounts of likes to determine your self worth. This constant competition between peers created on these types of platforms is a strategy that keeps people interested in using the platform. Essenna O’Neills older instagram photos that made her famous in the first place buys into Van Dijck’s principle as she discussed in her multiple videos about the falsification of the way she looked and her “perfect life” online. The effort she discusses that she would put into each photo that she strategically posted online to create an identity for her followers in an effort to gain more likes is the competition that Van Dijck discusses in his book.

Another point that Van Dijck talk about in his book is that “connectivity derives from a continuous pressure—both from peers and technologies--to expand through competition and gain power through strategic alliances” (pg.21). In the article “Instagram star Essena O'Neill calls out fake social media couples” by The Guardian she discusses another famous male model who pursued a fake relationship with her strictly for business purposes. His want to connect with Essena and create a completely fabricated online relationship in hopes of increasing his following and becoming more popular and successful is an example of what Van Dijck discusses as well.

 

However, her recent efforts to educate others of the pressures and falseness of online stars and the reality in it I believe to be oppositional to Van Dijck. She is using these platforms now to raise awareness of these issues and to teach young adults to be accepting of who they are and to not believe everything they see on these platforms.

Work Cited:

The Guardian (UK) “Instagram star Essena O'Neill calls out fake social media couples” http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/nov/11/instagram-star-essena-oneill-fake-social-media-couples

Van Dijck, J. (2013). The culture of connectivity: A critical history of social media. Oxford: Oxford University Press.