From teeth whitening posts and diet tea promotions to waist trainer plugs, it can often be easy to forget that behind every sponsored post on Instagram we see, there’s a person.
Blogger and YouTuber, Scarlett London, found this out last week when one of her photos went viral for all the wrong reasons.
In a post partnered with the dental brand, Listerine, she photographed herself sat on a perfectly made bed with a blanket (complete with a photo of herself on it), while holding an empty cup of tea. She was also surrounded by a perfectly compiled plate of ‘strawberry pancakes’ (they turned out to be tortilla wraps).
Scarlett posted the picture of herself surrounded by heart-shaped balloons and strawberries with the caption: “The best of days start with a smile and positive thoughts. And pancakes. And strawberries. And bottomless tea.”
A post shared by Scarlett London(@scarlettlondon) on Aug 31, 2018 at 12:03am PDT
People were quick to criticise, saying that she was being ‘unrealistic’ and promoting ‘unachievable’ standards for her young audience – and it didn’t help that the photo was posted on Twitter gaining over 28,000 retweets.
One person even wrote: “Instagram is a ridiculous lie factory made to make us all feel inadequate.”
While another commented: “You can refer to yourself as a poor, bullied “young girl” all you like but if you’re going to effectively sell products to your followers, your methods are going to come under criticism.”
A post shared by Scarlett London(@scarlettlondon) on Sep 2, 2018 at 12:58am PDT
“Sometimes my photos are whimsical and OTT and a little too pink, but I’m not presenting this as an ‘idealistic’ version of life that young girls should aspire to.
“Those who follow me will know my reality. I try to raise awareness for the digestive condition I suffer from, the same condition that years ago threatened me graduating from university.
“My Instagram has been an outlet to show you can be positive and have fun with life, despite this condition.’
“I personally don’t think my content is harmful to young girls but I do agree Instagram can present a false expectation for people to live up to.’
“And I am wholeheartedly sorry if I’ve ever made anyone feel inadequate through my content.
“I am and will be okay after this hideous experience.’
“But another young girl or guy as the subject of a targeted hate campaign might not be okay. Please remember at the centre of every viral storm is a human being.”
Hopefully, Scarlett has taught her followers a valuable lesson before they next take to the keyboard to write a harsh comment.
Taken from GLAMOUR UK. Read the original here.
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