Model Instagrams The Uncensored, Unglamorous Truth — And Loses Thousands Of Followers
"I wanted to see what would actually happen if I ... shared stuff that you wouldn't normally even share with your friends, stuff that is taboo, stuff that was quite crude."
Stina Sanders, a London-based model and blogger, was recently inspired by Essena O’Neill’s viral denouncement of social mediain early November. (O’Neill returned to Vimeo multiple times since then, but that’s another story.)
“I wanted to see what would actually happen if I stopped posting glamorous photos, and shared stuff that you wouldn’t normally even share with your friends, stuff that is taboo, stuff that was quite crude, all that kind of stuff,” Sanders, 24, told People. “Personally I think Instagram is so fake — the amount of filters, the airbrushing — so I thought it would be interesting.”
So, Sanders starting posting unfiltered photos to show her 14,000 Instagram followers what her everyday life looked like without a Valencia-tinted lens. These pics included chipped nails, hair removal cream,medical devices and a caption about how psychotherapy has helped Sanders fight depression and anxiety.
“I’ve just finished an intense 2 month psychotherapy session to sort out my anxiety issues,” Sanders wrote beneath the post above. “It’s been over two weeks since my last panic attack 😅 Depression and anxiety isn’t something to hide away from. Get talking!”
Unfortunately many of Sanders’ original followers didn’t take too well to the authenticity of her new posts. She lost over 3,000 followers, she said, but gained more likes on each individual pic.
“Women were commenting because they could relate,” she explained. “For example, on the hair removal cream photo of mine, one girl said, ’I do my morning maintenance every Monday too.’ People were pleased that they could actually see it’s okay to be normal.”
As for the decrease in followers, Sanders probably isn’t too concerned about that anymore. People started flooding her Instagram with positive comments commending her honesty. And after sharing her story with media outlets, Sanders now has 40,000 Insta followers. Not bad.
Those 40,000 people will see the true Sanders, who promises she’ll continue posting realistic pics on her account: “Who cares about how your hair’s looking? Just be happy in yourself and be confident when you look in the mirror. It’s so important to just be real.”
