Instagram Model Reveals Downside To Social Media Stardom

When you've got a little more than 11 million followers on Instagram and can charge thousands of pounds per post, you'd think that life is pretty sweet?

Sure, the constant stream of supportive comments and money in the bank would be nice, but what does that cost in the long run? Just ask Amanda Lee, a personal trainer and pilates instructor, who has amassed a huge empire online thanks to her incredible physique and good looks.

She gets upward of 600,000 likes on a good photo - and here I am cheering when I get double digits. *sigh*

Amanda has spent four years building her social media profile and she says that it's actually started to take its toll.

While she mainly intended on her page being about her fitness, the number of comments about her figure led her to chuck in a few more *ahem* revealing shots.

"I always wanted to appeal to everyone," she says, "but I got seduced by people's responses and side-tracked trying to maintain this curvy physique and build a sexy brand."

But don't take her photos at face value as she admits that she takes dozens of photos before selecting the one she wants to post. Then she will spend several minutes throwing on a filter, editing her face and body with a separate app before uploading it to social media.

Her mum Olinda Fields can see that social media fame is affecting her, also telling Cosmo: "She still gets anxious. There's a lot of pressure to keep up with daily posting and people tend to be critical of your looks. She gets overwhelmed. There's a side of Amanda that no one sees."

It follows a bunch of social media influencers and models coming out and explaining to their many followers that they shouldn't be striving for unobtainable body types.

Hopefully Amanda's revelation makes people realise that having millions of followers isn't everything it's cracked up to be.