An 18-year-old Instagram star has quit online fame and slammed the door on her way out by telling the truth about how much work she put into creating the illusion of social media perfection.

Essena O'Neill, from Queensland, Australia, has almost one million followers combined from her various Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, Twitter and Tumblr accounts, and was making a decent income from advertising clothes and beauty products to her fans.

But the experience left her feeling "hollow", she said.

Read the article  (Be aware that Essena's video is a little sweary and should be reviewed by teachers before using within a school setting)

“Didn’t you audition for the musical? People told me you sounded like a dying pig.”

UPtv conducted a social experiment for its new anti-bullying PSA that questioned if anyone would actually stand up against bullying in an increasingly detached society.

With the help of three young actresses, the stage was set at a bus stop where one of the girls gets tormented by her two “schoolmates”.

Pedestrians who overheard the verbal attacks stood up for the teenager, while some invited the victim to get up and sit with them instead.

Watch the uplifting responses below and learn more about what you can do to put an end to bullying here.

The beauty of Snapchat is that the photos only last for a few seconds, unless your friend decides to screenshot them.
Even then, you get a notification, so can know exactly which photos of you are owned by someone else.
However, now, the app has changed its terms and conditions so it owns every single photo taken using the app.
Not only this, but if you use it, you're consenting to the app doing whatever it likes with your photographs.

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'Facebook has announced it will inform users if their accounts are being spied upon by any government.

In a note on Facebook, the company's security chief Alex Stamos said people would be notified if there is evidence their profile has been "targeted or compromised by an attacker suspected of working on behalf of a nation-state".'

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'Being bullied, getting spam or moving on from a relationship - there are many reasons to block people online.
Depending on the platform you're using, different things happen, but the general rule is that it stops that user from communicating with you.
But when you hit that block button on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or WhatsApp, it doesn't necessarily mean you are totally hidden from them.'

BBC's Newsbeat has clear guidance on each of the more popular socoalmedia apps.

Read more

Make 17 minutes to listen to Jon Ronson on the public shaming of people on Twitter. It's important.

Watch the TEDtalk here