"Keeping Up With Reality" focuses on the impact that reality TV and social media have on young people today.
Abbey Vocational School in Co. Donegal have launched a power campaign which aims to highlight the negative impact that social media and reality television can have on the youth of today. The YSI project went completely viral and has been shared by hundreds of people, including a huge number of prominent social influencers.
We first came across this campaign on Aoibhe Devlin's Instagram account. The blogger and mum of one said that she was delighted to be contacted by the Donegal school who asked for her help in promoting their campaign. Aoibhe felt that it was a very important topic and she was happy to use her social media platforms and connections to spread the important message.
The YSI project is centred around the idea of the pressure and pretence that is associated with social media and reality television. The students of Abbey Vocational School named their campaign "keeping up with reality" and the catchy name has really taken off. It has been shared, re-shared and tagged in huge numbers due to the powerful message it is sharing. The students love social media and admit that while young people couldn't imagine life without it they do feel that
"there is a lot of falseness associated with some reality shows and posts on social media that they struggle to understand what is real and what is fake".
To promote their campaign and spread the important message they called upon influencers to share an unfiltered image of themselves to their stories or Instagram grid tagging them with #keepingupwithreality2020 and #YSIproject
Influencers like Stephanie Buckley, Ali Dee and Jane Swarbrigg used their social media platforms to help spread the word. Many of them thanked Aoibhe Devlin for highlighting such an important cause. As a result the campaign's Instagram page has attracted thousand of followers who all support the very important message that Abbey Vocational School are sharing.
This campaign is an excellent portrayal of the powers of social media. On the one hand the YSI project is highlighting the pressure and confusion social media can cause for young people and on the other hand social media is the powerful tool that has helped them open up the conversation about such an important topic. It is incredibly innovative and business savvy.
We would love if you followed the account, shared your unfiltered selfie and used the hashtags to help further promote a very important message. Well done to the students of Abbey Vocational School. What a brilliant campaign and message that we can all learn from.