A teenage Instagram star has made an emotional statement about the dark side of social media, editing the captions of
her own pictures saying they were artificial and self-promoting.
With more than 500,000 followers on Instagram, Australian Essena O'Neill, 18, earned an income from social media.
She became a social media celebrity through posting images of her apparently picture perfect lifestyle.
She now says it left her feeling empty and addicted to social media likes.
In a 17-minute video which she uploaded onto her YouTube account, she vows to act against the "unhealthy" ideals of social media.
She also set up a website to fight against what she described as the cult of social media. She deleted 2,000 photos on Instagram that, she said, "served no real purpose other than self-promotion", and scrapped her other social accounts.
"I don't want to support social sharing sites that makes billions off advertisements I don't agree with," she said.
"I've also spent hours watching perfect girls online, wishing I was them. When I became 'one of them', I still wasn't happy, content or at peace with myself."
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