Teen girl exposes what her Instagram life was like, deletes account with 800,000 followers, describes how this lifestyle made her miserable

[david_smith110]

<p>This young lady has made a very bold move, and if her story is true then we have at least one example of the incredibly negative impact social media can have on youth. Truly, the generation of children growing up right now are experiencing and participating in a lifestyle with no parallels in human history. Don't get me wrong, I'm not proclaiming social media to be 'evil' or any nonsense like that. But there is a dark side present which, if we don't educate ourselves and our children about, can have very negative results.</p>

<p>http://petapixel.com/2015/11/03/instagram-star-quits-reveals-how-photos-are-edited-contrived-and-paid-for/</p>

<p>The young lady has also started a new site called Lets Be Game Changers. I haven't had time to go in depth into it but it looks promising. Unless this is just the 'next step' in a huge, clever marketing campaign (yes I see conspiracies everywhere) then it seems at least one youth had 'woken up'. Good on ya Essena.</p>

<p>Her new site.<br /> http://www.letsbegamechangers.com/</p>

<p> </p>

[Karim Ghantous]

<p>I did see that story a couple of days ago. There is one thing, though, that's different for me: social media isn't about followers, it's about interaction and learning.</p>

<p>I love Twitter and check my feed a few times a day. It is incredibly enlightening. I follow accounts which discuss: science, politics, retro computing, photography, movies, etc. I also follow some people simply because they are interesting. And then there are the surprises you get from retweets. My follower count isn't that high, but perhaps someone can tell me why this matters?</p>

<p>Of course I am not on either YouTube, Instagram or Snapchat, but that is because I see them as rubbish platforms. YouTube is for free (or ripped) music or educational videos, but I don't post anything there. If I do post a video, it will be on Vimeo.</p>

<p>Vine is so much fun, too, and you get a window into all parts of the world. There, my follower count is not high either, but it's whom you follow that counts, not how many people follow you.</p>

<p>So my angle is different than Essena's. But I do like what she's doing, regardless.</p>

[User_6502147]

<p>From my observations, the educ system here (in US) does not teach children critical thinking early on. Too often parents are wrapped up in their own lives/world to fully enlighten the child/en.</p>

<p>Personally, I abstain from soc media, since I haven't found much value in it....your mileage may vary.</p>

<p>Les</p>

[colin carron]

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<p>Unless this is just the 'next step' in a huge, clever marketing campaign</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Given the enormous effort she has already put into self-promotion I think this could well be true. After all she has achieved wide media exposure by this move. </p>

[Matt Laur]

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<p>Personally, I abstain from soc media, since I haven't found much value in it</p>

</blockquote>

<p>You're using it right now!</p>

[Member69643]

<p>I'm amazed that anyone takes the virtual for real. The old saying, a sucker born every minute, might have been too long a time frame in today's society.</p>

<p>You don't have to make your imaginary life real. Your fantasies can enjoy a wonderful existence inside your head. Too many make the mistake of believing "if you can dream it, you can do it".</p>

[Norma Desmond]

<p>The virtual isn't <em>taken</em> for real. It <em>is</em> real. People really do interact over the Internet, they really do share pictures with each other. </p>

<p>If photographers and artists didn't make their imaginary life real, photography and art would be awfully drab.</p>

<p>Imagination is the key that unlocks many of life's secrets. </p>

<p>Don't knock it 'til you've tried it.</p>

<p>Photography is, in many ways, its own virtual reality. Most of us here are steeped in that virtual space.</p>

[zane1664879013]

<p><em>> Unless this is just the 'next step' in a huge, clever marketing campaign</em><br>

Yeah, I'll believe this reformation when she donates to charity all the money she made in her former life. Until then it could well be Step 2 of her online career.</p>

[Wayne Melia]

<p>wwaaaahhhhh.</p>

[mike dixon]

I think John Hughes made several movies back in the 80's exploring this same general theme (but without the Instagram element).

[AJHingel]

<p>"<strong>No Instagram, Tumblr, YouTube or Facebook or twitter</strong> "<br>

Sounds as a good advice striving towards a better quality of life and leaving adolescence. I would support her.<br>

.</p>

[hjoseph7]

<p>Think about life without social media. This photo website as well as others would not be up. We would be getting our information from the library and consumer magazines like in the good old days. Our pictures would remain inside the shoe-box.</p>

<p>The problem I think is when you over do it. it is very easy to become addicted to these sites. It's when you replace reality with social media that the problems begin. Also there is the privacy issue. The more followers and the more problems you are probably going to have, just like in real life.</p>

[Spearhead]

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<p>"<strong>No Instagram, Tumblr, YouTube or Facebook or twitter</strong> "<br />Sounds as a good advice striving towards a better quality of life and leaving adolescence. I would support her.</p>

</blockquote>

<p><br />These are all tools. She obviously got herself in a position where the tools worked against her. However, thinking the tools are the problem is no different than the photographer who can't take a good photo because of their camera. It's nonsense.<br>

<br />FWIW, <a href="http://bangbang.photo/">my website </a>is built on tumblr, and it's a terrific tool for that. Suggesting that it isn't is ignores reality in favor of platitudes.</p>

[AJHingel]

<p>"Suggesting that it isn't is ignor(ing) reality in favor of platitudes"<br /> Shooting from the hip, Jeff ! <br /> Suggesting that teenager's current use of <strong>YouTube, Facebook or twitter </strong>are equal to what happens on Photonet is surely ignoring reality - not to talk about "platitudes" (sic!). What happens on <strong>Instagram and Tumblr </strong>leave to you to appreciate.</p>

[Gus Lazzari]

<p>Marilyn Monroe blessed with so many natural gifts, had the same <strong><em>glass half-full</em></strong> view to her tragic life... <br>

A comment made by one of the down-lines, said it best for me:</p>

<blockquote>

<p>"If she wants to leave "the biz," she should just do it. But posting one more sobbing rant about how unfairly she was treated (or treating herself?) is just one more narcissistic ploy. Believe me, even though she's leaving an "I'm out" message, this isn't the last you'll be hearing from her." <strong><em>Steve Gray</em></strong></p>

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