Hundreds of likes on an Instagram picture of a perfectly posed, blond woman in a bikini may lead some to believe that she is confident and has a perfect life. But behind the scenes, Essena O'Neill felt like a lost and lonely teenager.
That is what the social media personality wants her followers and the world of social media to know: What you see on social media isn't always true to life.
The Australian-born model, who has made a career from posting blissful photos of herself in the perfect outfit with the perfect backdrop, surprised her followers when she deactivated her social media accounts, except for Instagram and YouTube.
She deleted thousands of pictures and instead, edited her posts to reiterate her message, "Social media is an illusion." O'Neill left some pictures on the site but added her comments to describe how she really felt when the photo was being taken.
O'Neill, who recently turned 19 years old, said she wished someone had told her that she was worth more than just an Instagram photo.
source: http://edition.cnn.c...na-oneill-irpt/