When Florence Given’s online persona became a source of acute anxiety and public shaming, she had to find a way to communicate that didn’t feel dangerous. Now she’s learned to be herself on her own terms
As an influencer I am constantly asked: “What’s your morning routine?” I had started an Instagram account in 2017 to share my art online; today that account has more than half a million followers, largely women, who I talk to every single day. It was a very simple question that, last year, became hard for me to answer.
The truth was, it began with me screaming into my pillow the second I was asked to do something. The idea of even taking a shower had become too much of a burden. Out of habit, my mornings revolved around the ritual of going online and balancing myself on the unpredictable scales of social-media algorithms, the fate of my mood that day depending entirely on the opinion of strangers. Every time I logged on was judgment day, activating my body into fight or flight in preparation for whether I’d experience social rejection or praise. All the while requests, from my audience, my team and the people in my life, piled on top of me every hour. The expectation to be constantly accessible to everyone at all times was suffocating. I felt as if I couldn’t breathe.
