Essena O'Neill

I would argue that Essena O’Neill’s recent actions and statements are fairly complicated and multilayered, so it’s difficult to identify her with one definitive answer in terms of whether or not she supports or opposes Van Dijck’s “neoliberal economic principles”. Ultimately though, I must say that despite her recent paradigm shift, her entire lifestyle up until this point has essentially supported Van Dijck’s points. It was her job, after all to “expand through competition and gain power through strategic alliances” (Van Dijck), as an influencer. Even if she effectively removes herself from social media, or changes the ways in which she interacts and represents herself, this will not change the ideology that values hierarchy and competition. Her story was one that was wildly popular for a couple days, but then is forgotten in the wake of the next viral video or story. This process itself reinforces Van Dijck’s statements. Furthermore, regardless of whether or not we can critique certain point she makes, it would be fair to say that her confession video is quite raw and genuine. This reaction then can also be seen as reinforcing these continuous pressures that Van Dijck refers to. She explicitly addresses the compulsion to always desire more followers. You might have 100 000 followers, but then you want 200 000. She may have “quit” social media but there are thousands of other influencers and micro celebrities out there just like her.