Vanessa Carlton Shares Heartfelt Message About Body Image On Instagram

Vanessa Carlton just got real in a Holiday Inn in Portland. 

The musician took to Instagram Tuesday to share a heartfelt note about body image and the deception of social media. 

The "Thousand Miles" singer posted her note along with a split screen photo of her stomach. She used the dual images to prove that what you see on Instagram, or any social media platform, isn't always a true depiction of someone's life. 

"Normally exposing myself like this would feel mortifying and inappropriate to me," she wrote in the caption, "but given what I've been seeing online and knowing the way young girls and boys are affected by what they see, well, I feel moved to do this."

Carlton also wrote that she just wanted to use her platform to encourage people to think positively about their bodies instead of focusing on trying to be perfect. 

"What you see on people's Instagrams and Facebook is never the whole picture," the 35-year-old wrote. "People that post photos of their bodies and faces online, have almost always taken about nine photos in hopes of getting that perfect angle, that perfect look and then they filter it." 

She continued, "Given this little platform that I have I just want to encourage young people to take themselves out of this cycle the best they can." 

The singer, who gave birth to her first child just last year, noted that she's trying to present "the whole picture." She wrote that sometimes, she fits into sample sizes, and sometimes she doesn't. Her body changes, and that's OK. 

"All you social media devotees know that life online can be adorable and funny and connected and it can also be a manifestation of deep insecurity and faux perfection," she wrote. "In my opinion we are beautiful when we are kind and empathetic and curious and laughing." 

And to end, she wrote, "Explore the world. Get off your damn phone." 

We couldn't have said any of this better ourselves.