Social media and unrealistic standards

Social Media. Love it or hate it it's going to be here for a while and we all have to get use to that. Sadly, the worst part of social media is the unrealistic standards people are creating for themselves and for others. With apps like Facetune there are easier ways to create a fake persona and body then what you were born with. This feeds the impression that only one type of body is beautiful when in reality it's quite the opposite.

For me, a skinny twig, looking at people like Kim Kardashian is a laugh because I know I will never look like that. Some people will see that as a sad thing but honestly, I'm fine with that because luckily I'm happy with the body I was given. Others, not so much. Especially teenagers who are going through puberty and bodies that are changing. Yes, they're going to get spots, going to feel self-conscious but when they're looking at the influencers who have Facetuned and botoxed themselves to look that good.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190311-how-social-media-affects-body-image

Just the other week my cousin who is only 14 asked why she couldn't look like the girls online. When she said that I felt my heart just break because to me, her family and her friends she's beautiful, but to herself, she isn't. This is the society that we are creating for kids to grow up in and honestly, it isn't right. To be honest I hate it. Seeing teenagers feel like killing themselves because they believe they aren't beautiful is heartbreaking. It's one of the saddest things to think about.

I think that not just women’s body standards but also men's stems from models back in the '90s and early 2000's. Models like Noami Campbell and Linda Evangelista were seen as the "it girls" and you had to look exactly like them otherwise you weren't beautiful. This is sad because 90% of girls won't look like them but will try to and when that doesn't work will cry and lose confidence in themselves. It's one of the moments where you want to hug them and tell them how beautiful they actually are.

Here's my advice to all those girls out there who are thinking they aren't pretty enough or just want to give up because they don't look like the girls on Instagram. STOP YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL NO MATTER WHAT ANYONE SAYS! Please have more faith in yourself and not let others decide how your life looks because only you should feel happy when you make decisions. If you want to get botox because you'll feel happy that's fine just make sure you're doing it for the right reasons. If you're getting bullied for being too skinny or too fat, please tell someone. That was one of the worst things to watch when I was growing up, to see my friend get bullied for her weight and not tell anyone to the point where she wanted to give up.

Below I've attached a ted talk about self-confidence as she speaks the truth.

I also wanted to add in some videos from each end the spectrum. Before writing I have had my fair few experiences with skinny shaming but only seen fat shaming so wanted to know more about it. These videos helped me understand both sides.

Ted talks have probably been the best place to learn about anything so I highly recommend them.