No filter needed.
It’s been a dramatic few weeks for influencers and bloggers in Ireland. From the ‘call out’ accounts to death threats and fake press conferences this small community of highly influential Irish people have taken a hammering of late. On Girls With Goals this week, we’re talking about the power these bloggers wield, and whether our Irish begrudgery has anything to do with their potential downfall. News correspondent with the Sunday Business Post Colette Sexton joins us on the panel along with actor and writer Amy De Bhrún. In order to truly understand the world of social media influence, we spoke to Joanne Larby (or The Make-Up Fairy as she’s known to her 149,000 followers on Instagram), she opens up about some of the abuse she’s received, transparency, and what needs to change in the industry. Listen in at 2:09 in the link below or keep reading. It’s easy to forget as we sit and scroll through Instagram that there are people behind these startlingly beautiful images. In order to truly understand the pressures that come with being a social media influencer, we spoke to Joanne Larby who knows a thing or two about being trolled.
Joanne opened up about the backlash she’s received in the last few weeks:
“I’ve definitely taken some points on board, it’s incredibly important for us to listen to our audience. I don’t like the word influencer as it denotes that it’s a one-way relationship and that you are directing something at an audience, I prefer to see it as a balanced relationship”.
Speaking of transparency, she explained that she understands why people are annoyed but pointed out that different social media platforms are used for different things.
“We do need to look at adaptations and change and take those on board, I know that a lot of people have spoken about heavily edited images and to be more real with the audience which is very important. I use social media differently depending on the platform, Snapchat for me… I’m as real as I can get, I rarely come on with make-up. Whereas my perfected life is most certainly Instagram, it is a social media platform that was brought about to be that, a very perfected feed with filters.”
As discussion surrounding the industry has intensified, so too has the abuse she’s received, Joanne explained that sometimes it goes too far:
“What we mean with online bullying is more so the daily hatred that we would receive. When you open your snaps, I wouldn’t even repeat some of the things that I’m often sent, It’s 99 per cent positive, but that 1 per cent could catch you. I would get someone telling me to ‘shut the f**k up you beep beep beep, that’s when it’s too far”.
Colette Sexton and Amy De Bhrún also discuss the Time’s Up Movement in Hollywood, and we’re joined by Basketball star Tiffany Corselli for our Spotlight On Sport.
