There are different types of celebrities that use social media as a platform, in my opinion. Saying this, most celebrities have a huge influence online that can be global. There are the celebrities that already have a huge fan base, such as artists and actresses – Selena Gomez conquering Instagram with a whopping 107 million followers, making her the most followed person on this extremely popular social network. This means that she, amongst other hugely followed artists and actors, has almost a duty to be a positive role model on social media and encourage body positivity. Upon looking at Selena’s account, it is a rarity that she is seen in minimal clothing or looking super skinny – she doesn’t feel the need to post half-naked photos or pictures of a super strict diet consisting of just veggies.

Opposing this, Emily Ratajkowski is an actress and model who has recently had a shinier spotlight directed at her. After playing a part next to Ben Affleck in Gone Girl and working alongside Zac Efron in We Are Your Friends she has become better known and also has millions of followers on Instagram, although nowhere near as many as Selena Gomez. Emily is often seen posing with minimal clothing, nearly every other post being one in a bikini or ‘sexy’ lingerie. Of course, Emily has an incredible body that I’m sure she works really hard to maintain but it is also setting unrealistic expectations for other young women and girls that simply can’t attain it.

There are many, many celebrities that take to social networks such as Twitter and mainly Instagram to post photos that will make ‘normal’ people feel inadequate and as though they are not as beautiful simply because they have a different body shape. This is the complete wrong message that should be sent out, particularly by celebrities or famous people that have such an influence online.

There are the other celebrities that have become famous through things like reality TV. These are essentially ‘ordinary’ people who have gained fame through partaking in reality TV programmes such as Geordie Shore, Made in Chelsea, The Only Way Is Essex…to name a few! The celebrities from these types of shows normally tend to have no particular talent, and are loved and watched because of their normal lives and the drama that goes on within them. Since they are ‘normal’ people it means that audiences will be able to relate and identify with them and I think that this makes them also important role models. Upon further speculation, there are almost both extremes when it comes to these reality stars.

MTV’s Geordie Shore star, Marnie Simpson, who has a hefty number of 2.4 million followers often posts ‘provocative’ photos and it doesn’t take much scrolling to see full nude pictures of her! At the other end, there is ITV’s The Only Way is Essex star Billie Faiers who made her fame also through reality TV, and although she has less followers at 1.3 million she is seen consistently posting pictures of her family-orientated life. Marnie’s often exposes her petite body, the photos often relatively explicit and objectifying, another negative message to be promoting towards young women and girls.

You do not need to essentially get naked and expose yourself to be accepted or get likes and comments or be considered beautiful! Although personally I do not think there is anything wrong with showing off your body when you’ve worked really hard for it, there is a boundary and displaying too much of your body on such a widely used platform like Instagram is not the right image to be portraying.

Lastly, there are the celebrities who have become famous BECAUSE of social media. As a little recommendation, check out Clean Eating’s Dirty Secrets on BBC iPlayer because it really opened my eyes in relation to bloggers and the influence they have. I had a look at a particular YouTuber named Fleelee the Banana Girl who literally promotes the belief that meat is poison for your body and ‘raw’ food is the only way to be healthy and fit. How crazy is that?! There are hundreds of YouTubers that promote different diets and eating habits, but many of them aren’t even qualified nutritionists or dieticians. Another YouTuber had claimed that drinking things like milk and calcium products will cause a calcium deficit. I’m no scientist but even I know that is complete rubbish! I can’t get my head around it. Vastly popular bloggers watched by millions everyday are promoting incorrect advice to get that ‘perfect beach body’ and it can make people seriously ill. Do your proper research and talk to doctors if you’re having any doubt at all!

Girls should be urged to love themselves and to become body confident whatever their shape is. We need to be encouraging and promoting the message that everyone is different and you do not have to be or have a particular body shape in order to be classed as beautiful. Self-confidence is a hugely important ordeal that women and men should be stimulated to feel and succeed in, in order to stop negative outcomes such as eating disorders and depression or just real unhappiness.

What about men I hear you ask?! There’s just so much to say on such a hot topic you’ll have to check out my next blog!

Thanks for reading guys

xoxo