Social Media Is Ugly, Not You
Jenna Leung (ISB 11)
Jenna Leung is a staff writer at Buddy! and has a keen interest in the social, psychological, and personal implications of pop culture phenomena.
In her second article for Buddy!, Jenna explores a prevalent issue that plagues that lives of young boys and girls today: the perpetuation of unrealistic beauty standards through social media. Coming from someone that has experienced concern over her own appearance, Jenna’s analysis is illuminating and clear.
As much as people say not to judge a book by its cover, they often do the opposite. Instagram “Influencers” exclusively post pictures of themselves looking gorgeous: those golden hour pictures where the girl’s wearing glam makeup with blinding highlight and hair wavier than a tsunami. As you scroll down to the comments section, you’ll find mountains of heart-eye emojis or the all-too-common “omg girl you slayyy, why are you so gorgeous”. This is when you face yourself in the mirror, picking apart every little blemish and imperfection you have. “People are comparing their appearance to people in Instagram images, or whatever platform they're on, and they often judge themselves to be worse off,” says Jasmine Fardouly, a postdoctoral researcher at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. Beauty standards are gradually engulfing humanity and brainwashing people's minds into constantly bashing their bodies.
“…girl’s wearing glam makeup with blinding highlight and hair wavier than a tsunami.”
The first thing most people do the second they open their eyes is to reach for their phones. They willingly immerse themselves in a fake reality. Social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, etc. are commonly used worldwide. Celebrities, influencers, and brands use these platforms to promote themselves. While the content we mindlessly scroll through every day may not seem to be harmful in any way, our minds soak in everything we see, and, before we know it, these unrealistically perfect physiques come together to form the standards we use to measure ourselves.
(From Peter Devito Photography)
In 2014, a study found that 5 million tweets written by women talked negatively about their appearances. Seventy-eight percent of the survey sample felt that the beauty standards social media set for women were unrealistically high. Thanks to the increasingly beautiful people promoted on social media, standards of beauty are becoming harder and harder to attain, especially for women, where “the ideal thinness for women is achievable by less than 5 percent of the female population”, said Dr. Rationis. Though the development of social media has opened up many new opportunities that were previously unfathomable, what many people fail to realize is how everyday online content is poisoning the lives of millions worldwide.
(From Peter Devito Photography)
Concern for one’s physical appearance is reasonable, but is our society may be pushing that boundary With all these good-looking people online, social media is telling us that being ugly is the “barrier to success”. In short, you won’t reach success because of your appearance. Studies show that attractive people enjoy more distinct advantages in society: attractive applicants are more likely to get jobs and receive higher salaries. a Newsweek article claimed that “handsome men earn, on average, 5 percent more than their less-attractive counterparts (good-looking women earn 4 percent more).” Additionally, relatively good-looking people are often found less guilty in court, and even if they are found guilty, the sentences are less severe. The ‘bias for beauty’ operates in almost all social situations. It seems as if attractiveness—defined by a narrow set of boundaries—is the fast-pass to being valued in society.
Even though being “beautiful” may be the way to go, the harsh beauty standards don’t make it so easy. Let’s take a look at the beauty standards for women in the US and Korea. In the US, women with curves, a tan, and big lips are considered “pretty”. Meanwhile, Korean society considers skinny, pale, and doe-eyed girls as beautiful. Western beauty standards lean more towards the “sexy” look, while Korean girls are typically expected to follow the concept of being “cute” and “innocent”. This is where the problem presents itself: having curves would be valued and approved by Western culture, whereas that would be considered “fat” in Korea. No matter how diverse and accepting beauty standards may get, it’s downright impossible to satisfy all of them. Moreover, beauty standards that are trendy now may be considered ugly in a few years. If you undergo plastic surgery to achieve a particular look, your self-esteem will plummet once it’s no longer popular.
“No matter how diverse and accepting beauty standards may get, it’s downright impossible to satisfy all of them.”
Social media screams the message that being attractive will get you all the things in life, and being ‘ugly’ will get you nowhere. Everywhere online, we see perfect models and celebrities being portrayed as the unrealistic standard for beauty--- dooming those with “less-than-perfect” looks to a fate of believing they are ugly and unwanted. Who allowed social platforms to decide who is attractive and who isn’t? Why are we letting a limited few on Instagram define what beauty is and what it isn’t? It’s human nature, I guess, to be biased towards things that are pretty. Even in art museums, people tend to favor paintings that are ‘pleasing to the eye’, rather than those that don’t follow the ‘norms’. It’s the same with people. Confidence is already challenging to build up, but with the extra societal pressure put on people to conform to these beauty norms, it’s even harder. Nobody’s ugly. You’re not ugly. You’re beautiful. Don’t ever let others define your value and your identity because of your appearance.
“Nobody’s ugly. You’re not ugly. You’re beautiful.”
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