We watched a portion of Essena O'Neill's message in class to her 12 year old self. What is your reaction? Is she right? Why? Is it easy for her to say because she's had "fame"? Why are so many people obsessed with being "famous"? Are famous people more happy than the rest of us? Do a little research and include in your response evidence of whether people with more money or fame are happier because of it or not. Excerpt from Essen's website:
Let's bee Game Changers "For me I just completely cut off social media and all use of youtube/tumblr/snapchat/facebook/instagram... and I found my whole life/self esteem just increased dramatically. I was using it anywhere from 4-8 hours a day! That's like over 4 months of my year! It was the centre of my career, but even then, I was just aimlessly stalking, scrolling, comparing, wishing, wanting.... I just had to cut it all off like 'nope I have a serious addiction, these perfect lives and pictures aren't doing all that much for me anymore'. I had soooo much more time after that, and I started doing things like writing, reading and drawing that I always thought I didn't have time for. I now can't wait for my lunch break or after work to go read a novel, or leisurely write, or go out into the forest for a run... There's something so mystical and beautiful in life out of screens. I'm serious! It was as if - when I completely quit - the spell of comparison, boredom, anxiety was lifted. I started seeing a lot of how I used social media as absurd - perfect edited highlights, not the raw, mystical, genuine, calm, educated substance of integrity. I now crave those things, things of substance. That now 'sucks' me in. And those things enrich my life. "NYTimes article:
I believe that Essena O'Neill's message to her 12 year old self is deeply moving. She hit the nail right on the head, regarding the obsession that most people have with being famous on instagram and other social media outlets. There are people that truly believe that their self worth correlates with the amount of followers they have but this is not true. Each individual is unique and aren't put on this earth just to be famous. Fame is something that is manmade and is a calling for the elite. But what is the elite, what is the criteria for being famous. Do you have to make stupid 8 second videos in order for people to say "Wow, this person is really cool". Absolutely not, there should be no criteria and goal for people that want to be famous. Sure, famous people get perks that
ReplyDelete"normal people" don't, but just from Essena's video, there are many people that aren't satisfied with just having money and being wealthy. Many celebrities turn to other things in order to become satisfied with their lives, they donate to charity, raise awareness about any injustice that hits close to home. However, the average person can do those things as well and be just as satisfied.
We are all unique and therefore what makes us happy will also be unique to each of us. However, we are also human and classic psychology has revealed that our brains can be tricked by a chemical in our brains called Dopamine...https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/brain-wise/201209/why-were-all-addicted-texts-twitter-and-google
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ReplyDeleteAlthough I thought the video could have been edited for the sake of conciseness, I think there is a lot of truth in what Essena O'Neill expressed. I don’t think it’s easy for her to say what she did. After all, her career was on the line when she made those statements. She knew the potential adverse effect being publicly open about her feelings would have on her career. I don’t think all famous people are happier than people who aren’t famous. There are plenty of ordinary people who are happier than famous people and vice versa. I do think in some respects, however, that money can yield happiness. Consider Brian: a bright, ambitious student whose passion lies in the field of sports journalism. To go to his dream college, he is forced to take out a loan. To add to this financial burden, Brian will not be able to find a high-paying job after graduation. Money troubles will prove difficult for Brian: food isn’t always on the table, and a permanent home isn’t a reality for Brian’s family. The absence of money has prevented Brian from being happy. Overall, I don’t think that the relationship between fame/money and happiness is a black and white matter.
Is Brian a real person? I think what is interesting about her speaking out like this is that it reveals a world that most people might not think exists. She is risking quite a bit by saying what she is saying and I do not think many people would have the nerve these days to be that courageous.
DeleteI believe that Essena O'Neill's message was spot on. And more people in today’s world need to watch her video and have this wake up call. People need to understand that our lives shouldn’t be defined by numbers. We shouldn’t be going crazy or be feeling inadequate because we don’t have over one thousand followers/friends or because we’re not a size two like that photoshopped model in the picture. And we especially shouldn’t feel that achieving happiness means becoming a celebrity on social media. But that thought that if one becomes famous, he/she is complete and thus becomes the happiest person on this planet is penetrating the minds of more and more people walking around today. And like Essena said, today the first step in becoming famous is reaching that instagram milestone of having over thousands of followers.
ReplyDeleteBy having this need of people constantly paying attention to us, liking our posts, sharing our words, we are allowing them to control us. We give these strangers the power to make us or break us. And studies show that nothing is more stressful for a human than when their goals are tied to the approval of others. Particularly when those "others" are an enormous crowd of fickle strangers holding you up to a laughably unrealistic ideal built by publicists, thick makeup, and heavily Photoshopped magazine covers.
Yes, there are some famous people who may be happier than the average person like you and me. I would love to be making over a million dollars a year, have 3 homes in 3 different countries, 6 cars, and everything you could think of in stores. But, I still find my life now comfortable and satisfying enough. I wouldn’t like the feeling of basically being stalked 365 days a year. I wouldn’t like being judged by those who don’t even know me and having to be careful because anything can send all of my money, “hard work”, and career down the drain. Thinking about this already gives me anxiety. So yes, there are famous people who minding the cons have many pros that they believe make their life as a celebrity worth carrying out. So coming from a “fame” point of view, it was and it wasn’t easier for Essena to say what she said in the video. Because she experienced all of the stress from being famous, it was easier for her to explain the reasons of why we should get rid of or if not limit our usage of social media. She went through the feelings of many today, equating themselves with the numbers on their screens and the shapes of the fake pictures. She lived the “dream” life that every social media user is trying to run after right now. And for her to give it up, meant basically giving up her career. And this fact should really be thought about by everyone clicking that like button, sending out pictures on the internet, and measuring themselves by the magazine cover models.
"We give strangers the power to make or break us." Very powerful Tiara.
DeleteYoutube was a gold mine when it first began. Fame was easy to obtain as long as you were funny, interesting, and completely captivating. That was the easy part, the hard part was getting your stuff out there. TODAY, it's a whole different ball game. Everyone is doing all the same things and it takes a pretty face, charisma and doing the same thing as everyone but in your own way.
ReplyDeleteI am a subscriber to many different youtubers, all that do very different things. My main interests lie in comedic and video game centered youtubers and the occassional artist and 3D short videos. I'm not into any bloggers because...well I don't really care about what you're doing on Sunday morning because anybody can get a camera and video tape themselves eating some cereal. Big Deal. To me, it takes a certain personality, humor and ethic in order for me to fall in love with a youtube channel. Game Grumps and The Creature are one of my favorite youtube groups that play video games but at the same time make commentary that is beyond funny and you get the sense of this homey feeling and you feel you can relate to these guys. They are their own person, doing what they love and not for the fame necessarily and give us something that most youtubers don't have:
They make us feel like we are truly important to them and not just another number that adds up to the many subscribers they have.
But what about the video we watched in class? Does she have a point?
DeleteEssena made a smart and powerful decision to remove herself from Youtube and Instagram. I think she is absolutely correct in her opinion about social media and the enormous hold it can have on peoples’ lives. People, especially young women, can get so sucked into the worlds of Facebook and Snapchat that they forget that the real world is outside the screens of their IPhones.
ReplyDeleteEssena probably understands that fame does not always equate to happiness because she has experienced this fact firsthand. She had it all: money, popularity, beauty…and yet she had never been more miserable.
As people who have never experienced fame, we may not understand how being “adored” by millions of fans could be a bad thing. Everyone likes a little bit of attention, to be told their beautiful, or cool, or an inspiration.
However, people are in general extremely fickle, and after a while this adoration from men and women one hasn’t even physically seen can appear to be what it often truly is: shallow.
I don’t think famous people are any happier than the rest of us. They are still humans, and therefore encounter weaknesses, frustrations and imperfections. Besides all this, they must try to keep up a perfect appearance or else face the wrath of the paparazzi and ridiculous gossip sites.
The faster we recognize that being imperfect and experiencing bumps in the road is a normal part of living, the faster we can embrace an authentic life.
https://www.psychologies.co.uk/self/is-everyone-else-really-happier-than-us.html
Great point Madeline. In the way she became "famous" she is uniquely qualified to speak out. I think it is surprising in a way that we don't see often today. She gave us a glimpse behind the curtain so to speak and what she's describing is just like the Wizard of OZ. It's all an illusion to sell products.
DeleteI support Essena decision 100%. She knew that something was not going right in her life, and instead of brushing it off or caring about what other people might, say she terminated all the negative aspects in her life. This was a great decision on her part because keeping something that can make you feel sad, or frustrated, when in reality all it should be used for fun. When Facebook and Instagram were first created, it was meant for enjoyable purposes, like communicating with distant friends or family, and checking up on what your friends may be doing or with. The throughout the years, that process became complicated and they soon became used for insecurities. She knew that she was becoming famous, but she was willing to give it all up in order to have pure happiness. Most famous people probably are happy but they are not happier than us, because in reality, they are us. They have the same feelings, expectations, chromosomes; EVERYTHING…the only difference is that they make more money than us and that their lives are publicized.
ReplyDeleteI think what Essena said in her video was very accurate. What she was saying about how her internet fame has not satisfied her is so true. Even though she has so many followers she barely has any friends. We have to want to do things for ourselves not the people around us. I very much support her decision. Social media has become a job not just a place for people to express their opinions and share things with friends. The fame that comes from social media does not make her happier than any one of us.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised in what Essena had to say in her video. To be honest, I would never thing that a model would even say something close to what she said. Most models have social medias and live for likes, comments, and compliments from other people to tell them how beautiful they look. Models are all about looks and appearances and for Essena say that we shouldn't focus on how many likes we get, and how popular we what to be is truly amazing. We need more famous people like that. Thats how a true model is suppose to act. Since this generation is all about social media and for Essena to remove herself from Instagram, Facebook, not focusing on her physical appearance and not worrying about what other people thing of her is truly inspiring and deserves some praise.
ReplyDeleteI admire Essena for being able to take the courage to announce to the world that she doesn't need social media. People might think that she's only doing this because she's a beautiful model, but what she said makes sense. Social media can most definitely bring down a persons self esteem, most especially a girls self esteem. We pay more attention to ourselves regarding the way we look or how people around us look.
ReplyDeleteSometimes whenever I go on instagram I'll post something that I really like, but once I see how many likes I received I'll feel a little upset. It sounds crazy, but everything she said in that video was true. Looking at videos online of gorgeous women doing their makeup would make me feel down because I know for a fact that I am not and probably will never be able to do my makeup like that. After watching Essena's video, it helps me to understand that I don't need to be like them. I will never need the skill of doing a perfect smokey eye for anything in my life.More girls our age should watch her video so they can see that they can survive without social media and also to show them that they don't need the thumbs up or the heart to be appreciated for who they are.
I believe in O'Neill's message to her 12 year old self. In this era of "selfie culture" many adolescents are obsessed with being "internet famous." Girls cry and kill themselves to look like instagram models who usually photoshop their bodies or get extreme surgeries. By doing this, O'Neill is definitely making a lot of young girls feel better about the way they are. This is a great way for her to use her fame. Other people would never throw their fame away or their endorsements but she did. It was a bold but a great move on her part and I respect he greatly.
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