About one year ago, insta famous teenager, Essena O’Neill,
revealed the truth behind her social media fame. Before deleting her accounts,
she changed her photo’s captions to more realistic descriptions, pointing out
how she wouldn't eat all day or take 3 hours to get the "perfect"
shot. In a following video, O'Neill pleads to her followers about the lies
behind social media and begs them to understand the images of the ideal life
are very far from true, or attainable for the regular person.
One week after her original video, she calls out fake social media couples. Here, she revealed that one particular man wanted to use their joint fame to gain free travel, increase follower counts, and make more money (Parkinson, 2015). In Van Dijk's book, "The Culture of Connectivity: A Critical History of Social Media", she talks to exactly this concept, of gaining power through "strategic alliances". By joining together, two people will gain more than they could individually. Van Dijk also talks to the social exchange which is hinged on neoliberal
principals. These principals create a pressure on the users to gain power
through a hierarchical ranking system, which in this case is gaining power through likes and followers (Van Dijk, 2013, p. 21). Clothing, food, and other lifestyle product companies are using
these neoliberal economic principals to commodify these Instagram models for
their own good, by creating the best picture.
As Essena says in her YouTube video, “Why I REALLY am Quitting Social Media”, these companies tell the paid influences where to put the products, how to hold them, and what time to post the photo (O’Neill, 2015). This capitalist society invented a new career in social media to get more likes, views and followers so that companies behind the brands can make more profits. The average social media user is now worried about their "like ratio" to ensure that they have posted a successful picture within their following. There are now countless editing apps, and even tools to make one's Instagram profile more consistent. 
This pressure to "win" has trickled down to celebrities such as Kendall Jenner where she "quit" Instagram to detox herself from the app to be able to focus on actual relationships. Don't worry....this hiatus only lasted a week; she is back!
O’Neill, E. (2015, November 3). Why I REALLY am quitting social media[Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe1Qyks8QEM
Parkinson, H. J. (2015, November 11). The Guardian . Retrieved from INstagram star Essena O'Neill calls out fake social media couples : https://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.
I love how you mentioned Kendall Jenner choosing to quit social media to your discussion. It seems as though recently many celebrities are beginning to "detox" themselves from the app as it is becoming a distraction from real relationships. In Kendall's case though you mention that she only lasted a week quitting the social media site which makes the action seem more focused on attracting attention and publicity rather than truly making a statement. In regards to Essena O'Neil I believe unlike Kendall her actions were true and she was in fact looking to start a movement as she realized how constant use and reliance on these social media platforms are capable of deterring our happiness and appreciation of reality. The number of likes and followers we have on Instagram and other social media sites has began to define who we are in society, which is concerning.
ReplyDelete