HOW INSTAGRAM GOT US TALKING ABOUT OUR MENTAL HEALTH
From teen model Essena O’Neill revealing the truth behind her Instagram photos last year, to household name Zoe Sugg (a.k.a Zoella) giving anxiety advice, it seems like social honesty is the latest must for young women online. With high profile stories such as these making headlines and more and more people joining in on the Insta-amnesty, the legion of the pretty and perfect are calling bullshit and opening up about the real lives behind the filters.
Honestly, if I’m having a rough day/week/month, I just post less. For some people, Instagram is a big part of their livelihood and cultivating their success means sometimes having to pout through it – I don’t think there’s necessarily anything bad about this. Even if you don’t have millions of followers and make your living online, some people feel like they need to keep up a facade, or put on a brave face, maintaining a picture of themselves being ‘fine.’ If you’re feeling like shit then you don’t really want to profess that to the world and invite them into it – I certainly don’t anyway – but if you have to keep on going then I don’t think it’s dishonest to slap on a smile.