Written by Kavya Khana
Edited by Jeeya Mahajan
The ideal of female beauty is "the socially constructed concept that physical beauty is one of the women's most valuable assets, and is something every woman should seek to achieve and preserve”. Our society today is so caught up in social media and relies on it on a daily basis. This has a strong impact on our generation today as we see images online and perceive that is how reality should look like. Models post on a day to day basis about their so perfect life and their workout routine and how to get “the perfect bikini body”, we as a society interpret that as how our life should look like. We make it a constant habit to compare ourselves to these so-called “perfect” women and put ourselves down for it. Without glaring ideas of the perfect body type being pushed down our throats, it is difficult for people to live and consume content online these days thanks to the internet. We are continually bombarded by modern media and social media with pictures of idealized version bodies. youthfulness (characterized by firm flesh), Slimness (veering on thinness), and prettiness (though somewhat aesthetically and/or digitally improved) are the focus for women.
Specifically, teens have trouble accepting our bodies and our lifestyle and perceive models/ social media influencers’ lifestyle to be ideal. We then lose ourselves in the process of comparing ourselves to others on social media. This tears down our self-esteem and confidence. We fall into a trap of putting ourselves down and letting social media platforms get to us. This severely impacts our mental health in ways that are hard to escape from as well as cope with. To prove this statement, the Mental Health Foundation analysis revealed that after seeing images on social media, 50 percent of 18-24-year-olds and 20 percent of all participants said they were concerned about their body image. Juggling education, extracurriculars, mental and physical health, and social life can become tedious. The female population seeking to please everyone comes with unspoken beauty norms. Many activists have stressed the need to be positive regarding our bodies in response to the thinspiration marketed through social media, believing that all bodies are beautiful in their own way. Sometimes, the triggers of poor mental health are nuanced and not trivial to untangle, but there is ample evidence of the detrimental effects of body image dissatisfaction. In some scenarios, we self induce mental health issues by following specific diets/workout routines to achieve the ideal body type. The majority of the time it results in eating disorders such as builema anorexia, pica, and others. These eating disorders have a deep impact on our mental health and how we express ourselves to the world. It also increases our struggle with our self-esteem and confidence. Thus bringing the Instagram models to a “cause” of our eating disorders. Not that they’re mainly to blame however they are known to only showcase the artificial parts of their life and not displaying how they do struggle too, as they are human as well.
To conclude in the creation of unrealistic expectations of attractiveness among children and youth, social factors play an important role. To encourage healthier body images around your society as well as to yourself ensure you are treating yourself with nothing less than love and respect. Treat yourself as if you were an individual that you love such as (your mother, best friend, sister, etc). Look in your mirror every hour and say affirmations to boost your self-confidence. Keep in mind the messages you encounter and see in the media and how certain statements tell people the way they appear. Understand those are stereotypes and challenge them! Ask about resilience skills programs for your community center, mental health agency, or college/school which can help people improve their self-esteem and well-being overall.
really well written!