Maya Jama warns of how social media can be ‘damaging’

Maya Jama has said she loves social media because it’s like a “personal documentary” — but is also concerned about the “damaging” effect it can have.

The Radio 1 DJ, 25, has more than one million followers on Instagram and her posts regularly attract more than 100,000 likes. 

Her split from long-term boyfriend Stormzy this summer drew widespread attention. 

Speaking to the Standard last night about her social media presence, Jama said: “I love it because it’s given me such a platform and you can be completely and utterly yourself on there. 

“People can connect to you as a person rather than just whatever they see on screen or what they read in the papers. It’s like my own personal documentary. 

“But at the same time there are mean people on there and anybody can say anything behind any screen at any point. 

“It can be quite damaging, I think. You can be consuming images that you don’t want to be consuming and sometimes you can get a bit under pressure when you see a lot of perfect images. I just try to use it to my benefit and ignore all the other horrible stuff.”

She added that she makes sure not to show every detail about her life on social media. “I think everybody that follows me is like, ‘I know her so well’ and I’m like, ‘You don’t know everything’,” she said. “I think it’s just about protecting yourself but also having a good time with it.”

Jama was leading a Halloween parade from Regent Street to Piccadilly for fashion brand Coach. She was joined by performers and 10 horse-drawn carriages, and she wore skeleton make-up, a silver dress and light-up cape.  

The star calls herself “Miss Halloween” and hosts a lavish party every year for her friends with surprise performances and themed rooms. She told the Standard she will be dressing up as a “mermaid corpse” for this year’s bash.