Nia Sioux is a teen icon, positive role model, and a voice for kindness in the online and offline world.

The 16-year-old singer, dancer, and actress grew up in the spotlight as one of the stars of the Lifetime reality series Dance Moms.  Since the end of the show, Nia is determined to use her platform to inspire and motivate others to share their stories and follow their passions.  Plus, she’s acting on the CBS series The Bold and The Beautiful, working on brand-new music, and releasing her second set of designs for her fashion line with Popular Poison.  What can’t this girl accomplish?

Everly Mag talked to Nia all about social media, how to stay kind, and what’s next for her career.

Everly Mag: How do you use social media to inspire others and promote positivity?

Nia: I always try to be the best me that I can be and put out a good message.  A lot of my followers are kids and teens, and I want to be a good role model.

Everly Mag: What’s your favorite thing about social media?

Nia: A huge positive is that people can come together and support you on things.  I know some people make friends on social media, and you can see into people’s lives and see what they’re doing.  I love Misty Copeland – she’s such a beautiful dancer – and I love that I can see into her life and become inspired by people [like her] on social media.

Everly Mag: What’s your least favorite thing?

Nia: I would have to say a negative of social media would be that a lot of people, they don’t know you, but they just assume things and just judge you.  Whatever you put out there, everyone can see.  They can comment whatever they want on Instagram, which is scary, but it can [also] be a positive.  Some people just don’t use it for good.  They use it to hate on others, to be bullies, and make people feel bad about themselves – to hate on people for just living their life.

[Social media] is more positive than negative for me.  I try to make it positive, and stay away from the negativity.  If you feed into it, it’s not good, because the negative isn’t real.  Whatever people are [commenting], take it with a grain of salt, because it isn’t always about you.  The Instagram prom was last weekend, it was all about kindness because they are putting a new feature on Instagram, the anti-bullying filter, which I think is amazing.  I thought that was really cool, Instagram is trying to make itself more positive.

Everly Mag: How can teens make social media a better place?

Nia: If you see someone getting hate on social media or being bullied, for me, make sure you stick up for yourself and stick up for your friends, even if it’s a group effort and you delete this person or block [them].  If you respond to them, they’re basically just looking for a reaction, so you need to be the bigger person and just not care about what they think.  You don’t know each other.  In my perspective, I don’t think you should put anything on social media that is mean or is bullying others.

Everly Mag: What inspired your Instagram Role Model Monday series?

Nia: Role Model Monday is one of my favorite things to do.  It’s been a really long time since I started it, almost a year.  I wanted to do it because I saw so many kids and people out there who have incredible stories, and they don’t always get to share that on a huge platform.  There are so many people who go through the same things [as them], and they can look up to them.  It’s great to share those stories and give people a role model.

Everly Mag: Tell us about your latest collection with Popular Poison.

Nia: I’m very excited about my spring collection.  It’s all about self-love, girl power, and being positive.  I just wanted to do something new and fresh, with more self-love going into summer.  You want to feel free, you don’t have to worry about school, you want to love yourself!  I feel like it’s something a lot of people would like going into summer, with [messages] that are meaningful.

Everly Mag: How do you describe your personal style?

Nia: Girly, but edgy.  Whenever I’m home, I like to stay in my sweatpants; when I’m working out, I’m in my workout gear.  I love sundresses, too!

Everly Mag: How has your life changed since Dance Moms ended?

Nia: There’s been a huge shift, actually.  I still live in Pittsburgh, but I basically live in LA now.   For Dance Moms, we would travel back and forth for weeks or months at a time, but now I actually have an apartment here and I live here.  So, that’s a huge change.  Being on a scripted show [The Bold and The Beautiful], you have to actually live here and be [on set] a lot of the time.

Everly Mag: How is acting on The Bold and The Beautiful different from being on a reality show?

Nia: I’m not dancing as much, and I’m memorizing lines, which is really different!  I’m using different parts of my brain, between the movement [of dance] and then learning lines.

Everly Mag: Do you watch yourself when you’re on TV?

Nia: The first seasons of Dance Moms, I maybe watched [a little bit].  There are still Dance Moms episodes I haven’t seen.  I lived through it, so I don’t need to watch it again and relive it.  Plus, I was usually at dance so I couldn’t watch Dance Moms!

For The Bold and The Beautiful, I’ve been really excited, so I’ve been watching the first few episodes I was on.  It was a really new thing to see myself act.  Once I started doing a lot of scenes and filming more and everything, I can’t watch as much.

Everly Mag: Besides acting, are you still pursuing dance and singing?

Nia: I still dance [and] I take classes whenever I can.  I’m always working out.  I’m a very active person, so I couldn’t imagine ever not dancing.  I’m very passionate about music.  I just went into the studio yesterday to record some music.  This summer, I’m really focusing on music and getting it out there.  I really miss being in the studio and I’m super passionate about it.  It’s something that I really love to do.

Everly Mag: What do you see in the future of your career?

Nia: I never know what the future is going to hold.  I try to take opportunities whenever I can.  I think people can expect to see a lot of projects I’m working on, a lot of exciting new stuff, really working on my craft.  I think people will really like to see that, and to keep fans really engaged and a part of my life.  For the future, I’m just going to keep doing what I love to do.   So many things can change so quickly that I’m really trying to be present in the moment.

Everly Mag: Finally, what are some of your favorites right now?

Nia: Favorite show right now?  On My Block.  I binge-watched it.  That’s a Netflix show.  Favorite artists right now?  There are a few.  Khalid, Louis the Child, Julia Michaels – my artist list can literally go on forever.  I’m hoping to see some people on tour, like Beyoncé.  I really like listening to new music and new artists, too.  Favorite movie right now?  I’m really excited to see The Incredibles 2.  I am there for that.

Check out Nia Sioux on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook, and shop her Popular Poison collection here.

If you liked this interview, you might also enjoy reading:

• Quiz: What’s Your Next Passion Project?
• Interview: Dancer and Singer Tate McRae
• The Top 5 Songs We’re Loving this Week
• Interview: Actress Emily Skinner
• Real Teens Talk: Role Models

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Feature Image Credit: Nia Sioux X Popular Poison