Teenage Model Edits Instagram Posts To Reveal The Ugly Truth Behind Social Media

She looked like she had it all. Young, beautiful, successful — and a massive online following to prove it.

But 18-year-old Instagram sensation Essena O’Neill was miserable, and last week, the Australian teenager deleted 2,000 photos from her account, re-captioned several old photos with the “truth” behind them, and changed the name of her account to “Social Media Is Not Real Life.”

I had acne here, this is a lot of makeup. I was smiling because I thought I looked good. Happiness based on aesthetics will suffocate your potential here on earth.

A photo posted by Social Media Is Not Real Life (@essenaoneill) on Jun 5, 2014 at 10:53pm PDT

“I believed how many likes and followers I had correlated to how many people liked me,” she explained on her new blog, Let’s Be Game Changers.

NOT REAL LIFE – I didn’t pay for the dress, took countless photos trying to look hot for Instagram, the formal made me feel incredibly alone. BEHIND THE IMAGE COMING SOON – www.letsbegamechangers.com

A photo posted by Social Media Is Not Real Life (@essenaoneill) on Jun 7, 2014 at 7:06pm PDT

“I didn’t even see it happening, but social media had become my sole identity. I didn’t even know what I was without it.”

Was paid $400 to post a dress. That’s when I had maybe 150k followers, with half a million followers, I know of many online brands (with big budgets) that pay up to $2000 per post. Nothing is wrong with accepting brand deals. I just think it should be known. This photo had no substance, it was not of ethical manufacturing (I was uneducated at the time). SOCIAL MEDIA IS NOT REAL is my point. Be aware what people promote, ask yourself, what’s their intention behind the photo?

A photo posted by Social Media Is Not Real Life (@essenaoneill) on May 26, 2014 at 12:16am PDT

Essena wants to raise awareness among young women of “getting caught up” in social media: “I just want younger girls to know this isn’t candid life, or cool or inspirational. It’s contrived perfection made to get attention.”

Edit real caption: I was 16 here. 16!!! I did not wear this outfit out of the house, just for the photo. What is the obsession with trying to look older, sexier?

A photo posted by Social Media Is Not Real Life (@essenaoneill) on Nov 14, 2013 at 11:40pm PST

The teenager is now exposing what was behind her “candid” Instagram shots — “stomach sucked in, strategic pose, pushed up boobs” — to show young people how fake social media is.

? and yet another photo taken purely to promote my 16 year old body. This was my whole identity. That was so limiting. Made me incredibly insecure. You have no idea. A photo posted by Social Media Is Not Real Life (@essenaoneill) on Sep 24, 2013 at 1:03am PDT

Here is the brave woman explaining her decision to quit social media in her own words:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=10&v=gyI2Sugw6Yc