Influencer Bree Lenehan exposes the realities of social media: 'Scroll with caution'
Bree Lenehan is back with another body positive message.
Over the weekend, the 26-year-old took to Instagram to post a series of photos that reminded her 669,000 followers not to believe everything they see on social media.
Every Monday, the self love advocate shares with fans her latest instalment of "Real Me Monday," an ongoing series where she aims to combat the diet industry and expose the tricks social media stars use to make their bodies look a certain way — which experts believe can trigger eating disorders and depression among young people.
"Happy Real Me Monday, with a twist! Leaving this here as I do every Monday to remind you at the start of every week that social media isn’t always as it seems…So scroll with caution and be kind to yourself always," Lenehan began in the caption.
The influencer revealed that she asked fellow creators to contribute to this week's post, to show fans a wider variety of bodies to help them feel less alone.
In the first slide, Lenehan posted two side by side photos of herself — one posed and one relaxed — to show how she hides her bloated belly. In another slide, influencer Sophie Dove revealed how she covers her acne on social media, and content creator Sara Puhto showed off her "Instagram vs. reality" photos.
"Here are some normal bodies doing very normal body things. This week I’ve reached out to some of my favourite creators that I feel you guys would find so much value from…for so many different reasons," Lenehan explained.
"I always aim to be a safe corner of the internet, but I can only really showcase my reality….I can’t represent everyone or all bodies. So I hope this will remind you you’re not alone and to fill your feed with people who leave you feeling better, not worse. Everyone in this post is tagged and has given permission to be part of it — I’m really honoured these beautiful humans were happy to be part of this series too."
Fans weighed in on the empowering post and thanked Lenehan for always keeping it real on social media.
"You're one of the most uplifting influencers, period. Thank you so much for always being so honest and transparent," commented a follower.
"Yes, Bree! Totally needed to see this today. I was feeling really low about my body image compared to models I see online and this was the perfect reality check," shared someone else.
"This is my favourite Real Me Monday yet. So important to get lots of different perspectives. What an inspiration!" added another.
Last week, Lenehan spoke out about weight gain on Instagram.
In the clip, the influencer filmed herself eating at different restaurants followed by an image of the universe. The words: 'Does it really matter?" appeared on the screen as a reminder that at the end of the day, we will remember "special memories" and not the size of our bodies.
In the caption, the Australian opened up about how our bodies change over time, and that weight gain is nothing to be ashamed of.
"Gaining weight doesn’t always = unhealthy or bad either. Bodies change, it’s inevitable. One day, if you’re lucky enough to grow life or grow old, your body will expand, wrinkle, sag, loosen, become frail, overcome challenges, heal sicknesses and change dramatically," she wrote. "One day you’ll look back and I hope you won’t regret missing out on special memories because you were afraid of a burger or your body changing."
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