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That girl with the weird name, Essena O’Neill, has been blowing up the internet, ripping the lid off life as an Instagram celeb. Normally I’d be part of the cynical backlash, but right now, her original point is resonating so hard with me.
It’s really embarrassing to admit, but there’s this girl I know through mutual friends. She’s younger, hotter and a makeup artist to boot, and constantly posts amazing selfies. We aren’t Facebook friends, but every so often I look her up, stalk her profile and come away feeling terrible about myself every single time. Call it self-flagellation. And while I rarely click into the Discover tab on Instagram, when I do it’s always filled with girls showing off their perfect bodies – clearly these aren’t straight up photos, but they just feel so much more real than, say models in magazines. And I’m 27 freaking years old. I’m so glad this stuff wasn’t around when I was a teen.
Social media is awesome, but it definitely goes two ways.
More links
The dream of disposable income
Gratitude in the face of failure
Being a feminist earning less than her partner (the polar opposite of my problem) or stuck in a gendered marriage
I love the article entitled “Gratitude in the face of failure.” Maintaining a positive outlook in life even in the face of failure is something we should learn.
I totally agree – I would have been a wreck if there was all this social media stuff when I was a teen. Although I’m so horrible at checking social media that maybe I would have been ok because I wouldn’t actually see what people were posting.
Great links this week.