Hyland uses the social media platform to be silly, sure, but she's also the queen of the empowering Instagram selfie — whether it's proudly baring her scars or a filter-free photo.
"I was born and raised in New York, so I had to grow up with a tough skin," she said. "Living in New York, you can be four years old and see a pervert exposing himself on the street. I've had to be like, "Well, I just saw that. Guess I just have to move on with my day and not let it traumatize me. So in that way, I've always kept it real just because I don't know how else to be. On Instagram and Twitter, I always forget how many followers I have. I'm posting stuff that I'm like, 'Oh. I think this is funny. My friends might like it.' A lot of times, it's not like I'm making a statement of being real — it's more an accident, and then I realize, Oh shit. I just posted a picture of five double chins and I I cannot take that back."
"It's important that we do share our stories, that we are vulnerable, and that we don't live in this filtered life where everybody thinks that everything's perfect, when it's really not."
"Then there are times where I do like to be open and honest and vulnerable about my life just because there are so many people out there living this filtered reality. It can feel like this scripted TV show on Instagram. We need to be able to remind ourselves that we're human. We make mistakes. We have flaws. But it's our imperfections that make us unique and perfect. It's important that we do share our stories, that we are vulnerable, and that we don't live in this filtered life where everybody thinks that everything's perfect, when it's really not. It just makes others feel less than, and we all should just be here for each other. Love is love, and we should all practice that."