DEALING WITH THE ONLINE PRESSURE
APOPULAR social media influencer has spoken out about her complex relationship with social media. Jess Davies, who is from Penrhyn-coch near Aberystwyth, explores the use of social media and subsequently our increasing reliance on technology in S4C’s documentary series Drych.
During the programme, the former model also discusses her “addiction” to social media apps such as TikTok and Instagram, which in the past has led her to feel under pressure to conform to social media’s idea of looking “perfect”.
For the first time, 28-year-old Jess talks about a difficult time in her life when she suffered from an eating disorder.
“It’s been uncomfortable thinking back and taking myself back to that time,” she said.
“People would say, ‘Oh my gosh, you look amazing!’
“Girls would say, ‘What are you doing? How do you look that good?’
“Most of the comments about how I looked, how thin I looked were all on Instagram.
“The people I worked with, people in the industry, agents, photographers, were saying ‘Oh my gosh, you look amazing!’ as opposed to ‘Where’s three stone gone when you were a size 10 before?’
“It was just a really hard time for me and I feel like I’ve really come through that.
“I’m really proud of myself now.
“Looking back, it was really tough to go through that and get through it on my own.
“I had to move out, live on my own, be single for years and just find myself.
“I’ve done that now but it’s been a journey.”
Her mum recalled how the weight loss took its toll on Jess – both physically and mentally.
She said: “It was something we never imagined.
“She was very conscious about her weight. She wasn’t eating carbs, she was exercising. She lost a lot of weight.
“She had people praising how great she looked, how she got like that. Obviously she thought, ‘Lovely, I’m doing something right.’
“It’s just wrong. She got sent a waist trainer. Being gifted something that affects your weight, your appearance.
“By telling other girls to wear these waist trainers so you can have a thin waist like me is just disturbing.
“In the end, she was really, really poorly. She had to go to the hospital.
“She looked so lost in this bed. She was very small and gaunt.”
In the programme, the social media influencer also discusses the pressures other young people might also feel due to social media.
According to outgoing Children’s Commissioner for Wales Sally Holland, three in 10 children aged five to seven are on social media, and at least half of them are online.
Most of them are making friends, learning and having fun but 50% of 12 to 15-year-olds have experienced bullying, racism, sexism or online harassment.
For Jess, social media can be a good outlet to raise awareness, create communities and be social, but she admits it can be “difficult”.
“I’m looking at how Instagram has affected my life over the past 10 years. I’d like to say I’m now confident about the way I look but I need to be honest,” she explained.
“I still feel huge social pressure to look perfect. Social media definitely makes it worse.
“Instagram is trying to reduce this pressure. For example, they now let you hide the number of Likes you get. But it’s still difficult.
“If it’s a problem for me, I worry what it’s like for young people.”
She also revealed how people’s comments on her photos also had an affect on her.
She added: “I’ve had people online – men online, say to me... ‘Well, that’s hypocritical of her because she has fillers’... or, ‘You’re part of the problem’. I’m like: I’m also a victim of it. If I want to look a certain way I can make that decision.
“I try not to be a negative role model for people but as a young woman who’s grown up in this world it’s hard for me to put a picture on Instagram where I haven’t edited myself or where I don’t look perfect or I’ve got cellulite because it’s not normal for people to see it on Instagram.
“When I do, I get negative comments, people saying... ‘You’re promoting obesity, you’re getting fat on purpose’. It’s really hard to hear.”
Advice for getting help for eating disorders or how to get help for someone else can be found at https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk.
■ To follow Jess Davies’ journey, tune in to DRYCH: Bywyd Jess Ar-lein on S4C at 9pm tonight.