One of many social media influencers

When Essena O'Neil, Instagram model and social media influencer, took her dramatic exit off of Instagram, her YouTube clip "Why I REALLY am quitting social media" brought some recent discourse to light about the popular social networking site. While teary-eyed and barefaced, O'Neil expressed how she is taking herself off of social media in order to live a more authentic life. Her stunt was nothing revolutionary, rather it highlighted the experience of some people, especially women, and the effects of striving to present a perfect version of yourself online while receiving validation from "likes", followers, etc. She is not the only social media influencer who has a large presence on a variety of social networking platforms; there are many others. O'Neil had built an ideal virtual reality which benefited from through company sponsorships and a false sense of satisfaction. Van Dijck argues "connectivity derives from a continuous pressure - both from peers and technologies - to expand through competition and gain power through strategic alliances". Van Dijck's argument is definitely applicable to O'Neil's presence on Instagram. As expressed in her confessional YouTube video, O'Neil states how she always felt compelled to produce the perfect photo on Instagram in order to keep up her follower count. Now that she has shifted and decided to "quit" all social media and introduce a website about her life experiences, it becomes questionable as to whether her presence now on her website is supported by Van Dijck's theory.