This Model Is Keeping Her Instagram Real With the Hashtag #TruthBehindThisShot

Facebook and Instagram posts should come with a disclaimer: “People in photos are not as lyrically happy, skinny or blemish-free as they appear.” Throughout the day, we tend to use social media as a form of escapism. Yet research has shown that when we’re feeling down, bombarding ourselves with carefully curated snippets of other people’s lives only exacerbates the problem. We fall into social comparison holes where we stack up our most banal moments against the veritable highlight reels we see before us. Jealousy, low self-esteem and depression often follow.

Thus, it’s important for us to adjust our attitude towards social media, remember that no one’s life is perfect. Not even models’, despite their branded airplane rides and catwalk strolls and impeccable genetics. Just ask Jazz Egger, a London Fashion Week vet and former Germany’s Next Top Model contender. To highlight the fact that her life is not nearly as perfect as her glossy Instagram would have outsiders believe, the model has been revising her captions using the hashtag #truthbehindthisshot. In her real AF retroactive musings, the model shares her body insecurities, the challenges she faces at work and the considerable amount of effort that goes into crafting her online persona.

Exhibit A: Originally, Jazz captioned the following photo with: “Photoshop lvl 7000 / sorry @robertsakowski for destroying your wonderful work xx.”

photoshop lvl 7000 / sorry @robertsakowski for destroying your wonderful work xx (#truthbehindthisshot my agency told me on that day that my hips were way too wide and that I needed to lose weight in order to have a chance at London Fashion Week. I already was underweight so I decided to not lose any weight. I still got confirmed for LFW.)

A photo posted by J A Z Z E G G E R (@jazzegger) on Nov 20, 2016 at 7:59am PST

Later, she added the following dose of reality: “My agency told me on that day that my hips were way too wide and that I needed to lose weight in order to have a chance at London Fashion Week. I already was underweight so I decided to not lose any weight. I still got confirmed for LFW.”

In an interview with Distractify, Egger said the idea for #truthbehindthisshot came from her frustration with the modeling industry. (A rather common complaint.) “Casting directors started asking me how many followers I have [on Instagram] so they can decide whether they want me for a job or not,” Egger told the site. “So today, I decided to post a selfie with a different caption than usual. I was honest. I’m so sick of people pretending to have a perfect life because I know their Instagram feed is full of lies which support stereotypical standards.”

#notgonnalie At this point the only reason I’m still on instagram is bc casting directors started asking how many followers I have so they can decide whether they consider me or nah. Idk how to feel about this but hey this is me dropping a selfie to stay in the game. (Also, I edited my instagram captions. Check out #truthbehindthisshot)

A photo posted by J A Z Z E G G E R (@jazzegger) on Nov 21, 2016 at 3:57am PST

Egger continued: “I think no one shall feel bad if they don’t live a life everyone is pretending to have so I started #TruthBehindThisShot to show the real stories behind my pictures. I edited my captions and added the truth.” Jazz’s edits go as far as 33 weeks back — and based the following post, she has no intention of stopping her clarity crusade:

I WANT TO THANK Y’ALL FOR MAKING THIS POSSIBLE WHO WOULD’VE THOUGHT MY STORY WOULD GO VIRAL I AM SO HAPPY Millions of people read about my story and it’s so heartwarming that so many of you thanked me for speaking up. I will keep sharing the truth behind my future shots. And remember – this is just the start.

A photo posted by J A Z Z E G G E R (@jazzegger) on Nov 24, 2016 at 9:10am PST

Scroll down to read more of Jazz’s refreshingly honest edits. And next time you’re wishing for Kendall Jenner‘s life, remember her recent decision to Insta-detox. At the end of the day, for every post, in every life, there’s a #TruthBehindThisShot.

Outtake from my first job in London back in August’16 x I realized my natural hair color looks kinda reddish in the sun (#truthbehindthisshot I spent about an hour thinking about whether I should post this or not bc my nose makes me feel uncomfortable) #namedmodels #talentsmodelsmunich #silkephoto

A photo posted by J A Z Z E G G E R (@jazzegger) on Oct 15, 2016 at 9:14am PDT

Tried dutch braiding for the first time. I guess you can tell lol #riot #dutchbraid (#truthbehindthisshot my teeth were edited bc they’re usually uneven and I felt like it’s distracting)

A photo posted by J A Z Z E G G E R (@jazzegger) on Oct 8, 2016 at 3:55am PDT

Thanks for having me #LondonFashionWeek #LFWSS17 #fashionscout #runlabel #namedmodels (#truthbehindthisshot I didn’t sleep much the night before bc fashionweek is pure madness. + I didn’t eat/drink salt, sugar, fat and alcohol for months to prevent my skin from breaking out. Didn’t work. Makeup artists covered it up.)

A photo posted by J A Z Z E G G E R (@jazzegger) on Sep 19, 2016 at 4:20pm PDT

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