Essena O'Neill is an 18-year-old from Australia with a pretty huge fanbase on social media – she has almost 600,000 followers on Instagram alone. After building a successful career posting photos of herself in bikinis and crop tops, Essena has decided to take a stand against the unrealistic pressure that comes with being a blogger in the spotlight.
She's revealing what really goes into capturing the "perfect" photo by replacing her Instagram captions with raw and honest narratives about the need for social acceptance and her experience being paid to post – a common practice among brands and bloggers.
Keep scrolling to read how Essena is shedding light on the skewed reality of social media, then see how Instagram is becoming a place of body positivity, helping to widen the fashion world's industry standards.