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Society is trapped in two worlds, one, endless war of ego and competition. A world where media validation rules our lives; while the other, trying to build everyone together yet breaking oneself in the process. To seek approval from Social Media followers promotes unrealistic beauty standards which inevitably, creates a negative impact on younger generations' perception of beauty. The human body is an intricate, complex, and beautifully designed work of art, not one alike yet social media, erotic poses, and revealing skin, has made it so easy to over-sexualize and objectify.
It has been scientifically proven that movement and exercise have a positive influence on an individual's mental health; except when the sole purpose is based on looking a certain way. Within social media, what is constantly shown are the admired before and after pictures. “Exercise like this and you will be healthy” or “Eat this healthy alternative and you'll look like me!” What is meant by this popular caption is the promotion of healthy-looking individuals without care for mental and emotional health.
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“ She followed all my directions. It was really easy to contact her and respond very fast as well. ”
You see, when exercise is utilized solely to look a certain way, there is an offset in mental health benefits. Participation in behaviors that hurt mental health has a significant increase shown as unmotivated exercise, self-body shaming, body checking and comparisons, daily weigh-ins, over-exercising, the inability to provide proper nourishment and rest, etc. resulting in the hyper-awareness of our bodies and flaws as many try to mold themselves into their own minds after picture. This constant state of obsession and vigilance to reach the “perfect” body is not good for mental health.
Social influencers like Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian West together have Billions of dollars to spend on their looks. A majority of Hollywood stars at any age look so young because they do not do nearly as much as lower-class individuals. Money has a huge impact on why most individuals do not look as young and thin as celebrities. These people have trainers, chefs, access to the best organic food, beauticians, staff to help them with everything, a much less stressful life, the best doctors, talented surgeons, makeup and hair stylists, and on top of that, are airbrushed and photo-shopped. Similarly, larger bodies are often depicted as lazy, deserving of ridicule, and makeover projects like Khloe Kardashian's television show “Revenge Body”. There are over a million different body types yet one only gets praised. It's easy to understand that people want to lose weight. Weight loss is equivalent to praise, attention, love, and respect; therefore, if the “perfect” body is being associated with these characteristics, what is presented by this “perfect” image is essential for not only social love but self-love.
Likes, comments, and ratings all get documented each within media and in individuals' own minds. for many people, what starts as an exciting way to share experiences, will develop into an obsession regarding approval which will create disturbances on self-image. People tend to compare looks to widespread pictures in media causing many teens who are active on social media to worry about how they are viewed. According to a survey done by CNN, “35 percent of people online are worried about people tagging them in unattractive photos, 27 percent feel stressed about how they look in posted photos, and 22 percent felt bad about themselves if their photos were ignored”.
When one checks their Twitter feed or Instagram page, one sees only the components of life that individuals prefer to share. Try to witness the opposite side of the camera when a woman at a party says, “let’s all take a picture”. What is avoided is the part where everyone lined up, fixed their hair, sucked in their stomachs, and took twenty completely different shots to get one “post-worthy” image. One also misses the part where the restaurant messed up their friend’s order multiple times before bringing them the “Instagram-worthy” meal. All that is presented is the times individuals opt to share. There is nothing unhealthy in regards to sharing the good components of life or being eager to take that person's view of a presentable picture. Most people tend to lean on that yet the purpose is, once these posts are viewed, what needs to be acknowledged is that it is not reality. Nobody’s life is as perfect as social media might make it appear.
When thoughts about changing your body appear, remind yourself that the one factor leading to this is the diet industry, a 60 billion dollar industry which, makes money off of people's insecurities and secondly, has taught a lot of people that their body is not enough as it is. “... beauty is a construct made by the capitalist system to make us see flaws that don't exist to sell us things we do not need.” (multiple sources) Our bodies are constantly changing. Throughout our life, with age, experience, privilege, and more. According to Lindy West, “The way that we are taught about fatness is that fat is not a permanent state; you are just a thin person who is failing constantly your whole life.”. There is no one definition of being “healthy”. Healthy not only grasps the psychical wellbeing, but the mental, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing also.
The value of being alive is not to perpetuate this false image of perfection; rather, to appreciate all the physicality, all shapes, sizes, colors; from fine lines and stretch marks to thick muscles and chiseled bones. Treasure what keeps you here and alive, feel your heart beating, your blood pumping, lungs filling. Exhale. In this short amount of time on this planet, experience it, connect with it, respect it, and most of all, give the only body you have the love it deserves.
Social Media And Body Image. (2024, Feb 19). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/social-media-and-body-image-essay
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