It is a fact that social media has redesigned the way we understand beauty in today’s world!
While communicating and connecting with people, even from the other side of the world have become
easier and faster than ever before, social media platforms have set very specific beauty standards
and very largely unrealistic!
But what is the impact of these unrealistic beauty standards on our society, focusing on the young generation?
and especially younger girls who grow up under the illusion that they are ugly
because they just don’t have anything in common with everything they watch on social media?
Social media and beauty
Social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Tik Tok,
are well and truly part of our daily lives.
Thousands of photos and videos pass through our screens every day and
present us with ideal standards of beauty.
People of all ages have any engagement with social media and consequently
there is the corresponding influence.
Of course, the biggest influence as it has been shown has been on the younger ages and especially on girls.
The collapse of self-image…
Constant exposure to photos of seemingly successful people on social media has resulted in
the worsening of the problem of young people’s self-image.
Many girls put themselves in the process of comparing themselves to these flawless models and somewhere in there
is where the insecurities start and they have pretty low self-esteem.
The consequences can be anything from superficial to very profound for their psychological and physical health.
The power of celebrities and influencers
Influencers and celebrities wield a lot of power over the public about beauty.
With thousands or in some cases even millions of followers following them, they can shape the
patterns, trends and perceptions.
However, the majority of what is uploaded to social media are edited images,
with filters that hide, slim, beautify or snapshots in ideal conditions that aim to
the creation of another reality 100% idealized.
Followers and especially girls are interested in influencers and the result is a sense of
insecurity and pressure to be not so different from these standards.
The role of parents and teachers
At this point the role of parents and teachers is crucial.
Young people should be made aware that these standards are not realistic and that the image they are passing on to the outside world
is not always the real one.
At the same time, training for critical thinking is quite important.
This will help to identify the fake from the real, but also the fake “messages”,
from the actual moments of a photograph.
In this way they will develop a very healthy relationship with their image.
The importance of correct representation and diversity
Socia can be a positive environment and with some influencers it already is, as long as they stand out from the crowd.
This is therefore possible through diversity, i.e. the emergence of patterns that include,
every body type, every nationality and different looks.
Influencers, but also celebrities can play a positive role by promoting diversity, but especially authenticity.
Perfection can sometimes be aimed at commercial purposes, with the promotion of certain products
that will help you reach perfection and become that way, without of course most of the time doing what they promise.
The aim is therefore to separate these misleading advertisements, with the useful and
with accounts that make good use of their demoticity to help where necessary or for
advertising their work.
So if your mind is “reeling” with the question: “Am I pretty enough?”
Stay in your mirror, look at yourself and love yourself exactly as you are, don’t try to change it,
beauty is hidden in the self-confidence that comes from acceptance and within ourselves!
