http://www.cbc.ca/news/trending/instagram-essena-o-neill-social-media-isn-t-real-1.3302045

Essena O’Neill has been “internet famous” since age 16. Her dream at the age of 12 was to become someone who is “perfect” in the audiences’ eyes. She measured her perfectness through the number of followers, likes, and appraisals from her social media accounts: Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr. She would dress mature, take hundred of pictures and photoshop the best one to post them on social media to gain likes. By the age she graduated high school, she has made income off her posts and modelling for brands.

“I had all the attention I had ever dreamed of and more. And … I had never been more miserable in my life,” she wrote. “I was a living paradox of conditional self-love and constant self-hate … I liked myself based on how tight and toned my body was, how pretty my hair and makeup was, how hot the guy I was talking to was, how happy I looked in photos, how many people liked my photos … my whole idea of self-worth revolved around my appearance and my social media status.”

She decided to quit social media because she does not want to spend 50 hours online without experiencing the real world. She does not want to waste her life again on the fake world that is making her miserable and unbearable and wants to face the real self and what truly makes her happy.

Comments: I think Essena’s act is very inspiring, and I have watched her recent 20 mins Youtube video and I was very touched by her words and emotions. However, this also leads me to wonder if she is taking another route to get more fame by going against social media. Social media’s power has gone beyond imagination, which is why everyone who is involved with business or trying to make money are relying on social media to reach their objectives. These platforms are the quickest and easiest ways to reach people and gain attention. However, everything has both positive and negative sides, at the same time that we are gaining benefits from social media, many are also suffering from this “online world”. Relating this situation to Marketing, traditional marketing has evolved into E-Marketing — will this generation last?