Numerous studies have shown the damaging effect that seeing everyone else’s ‘highlight reels’ on social media can have. Now, Essena O'Neill – an Australian teen with half a million followers – has deleted 2,000 of her perfectly-poised pics “that served no real purpose other than self-promotion.”

As social media infiltrates all aspects of our lives, fatigue was always inevitable; from the uptake of anonymous platforms like Secret to celebrities like Lena Dunham handing the reigns of their accounts over to their staff. Will regular people soon start deserting these digital spaces too?

If you knew that this was the only chance you’d ever get to read this sentence, would you pay closer attention? Snapchat’s ephemeral messages are a more human way of relating digitally, but they offer more than just a carefree share. Their fleeting nature asks us to stop and pay attention.

Documenting one’s life through Instagram snaps has become a daily ritual for teens; 52% of 13- to 17-year-olds in the US have an account. Yet the pressure to maintain a picture-perfect digital presence is driving many to open ‘Finsta’ accounts, which are open to select group of trusted friends.