Perhaps sharing my real life was too much for them.
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Her account began with carefully curated images of exotic locations, bikibis and behind the scenes of her modelling work, but she has been largely praised for her decision to document the less than glamourour reality of day to day life.
Stina Sanders is a model living in London who has posed for publications like Maxim and FHM.
Stina was inspired by teenage It Girl Essena O’Neill, who sensationally quit Instagram last month after exposing the truth behind all her well crafted images.
‘I may look like I have a glamorous life from the outside, but I have a lot of struggles in my life – like my anxiety and growing up with a disabled sibling.
Twenty-four-year-old Stina Sanders from Bristol chose to unfilter her grooming diary for a week – no lies, no filters, no gimmicks – in a trailblazing attempt to empower women miffed by the apparently ideal world of a beauty blogger.
Her Instagram feed is quite a regular one; filled with foodfies, gym selfies and “night out with friends” insane pictures. I’ve been judged all my life for being a model, yet when people get to know me they’re always surprised that I’m not the usual stigma that is attached to a fun job like my own.
‘I think it annoyed people to see that I was no longer posting pics of me in my bikini but photos of me de-fuzzing my facial whiskers!’ My toenails are falling off, I have swollen ankles and disfigured toes. However, Sanders said that while her following sank, she got more likes and positive comments, not to mention a boost in self-confidence. Who cares about how your hair’s looking?
‘I could just be me and that was the best thing about this experiment.
Plus, she explains, the impact of sharing only the ideal parts of our life goes far beyond double taps on Instagram. She wants people to turn off social media for a while in order to live a real life and to live it to the fullest that you can. “It’s so important to just be real”. And as for the selfie (without filters) taken at her psychotherapist’s clinic, “that had most likes out of all them”.
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‘I’m in no doubt social media has made people ill, whether that’s from feeling FOMO (fear of missing out) or making them doubt themselves. “Social media is what you make it. And if you make it, remember that you have to be happy with yourself and with your life before you can search for happiness, using social media”.
