Social Media Distortion

 

To Everybody,

Every morning I enter a bit of a panic mode—scramming to see what I can wear to school and desperately trying to tame my curls, which end up haywire by the second hour of school anyway. Most of us put a fair amount of work into what we look like every day. And why shouldn’t we? It just might be the day that we take a really good picture to upload on Instagram or Snapchat.

For myself, I try to wear shirts which aren’t too tight so my belly doesn’t show as much, and high waisted shorts or pants so I can feel somewhat confident that I don’t look like a sack of potatoes. I remember in tenth grade when I first started wearing makeup because a family member commented on how my first cousin was always the pretty one. After every few months or so, I would add a new makeup product, and now I have a whole routine—without doing that routine, I refuse to step out of the house. Having always been the ‘fat girl’, makeup adds a little more confidence to my outlook, and makes me feel happy. When I started to use it, I started appreciating myself more, which is fairly obvious if you’ve ever looked through the number of selfies on my social media pages.

I used to think it was just me, that to be insecure about what I looked like was normal because I had issues with my appearance. Then I saw friends—people who I thought looked perfect—question themselves about their appearances and face the same kind of feelings that I did. The truth is, there are very few who are completely content with the way they look. This is a disappointing, but fairly accurate, fact of life.

People tend to assume that the word ‘fat’ is a bad one. It’s used in such a manner to demean someone else based solely on their physical appearance.

Here’s the issue: your body doesn’t define who you are and what you are capable of.

It is harder to accept that these days. With the power and influence of social media, especially ‘Instagram Models,’ we tell ourselves that we are supposed to look like them. But what we fail to remember is that even the ‘perfect’ models we see online don’t lead perfect lives.

Last year, an Instagram model named Essena O’Neill came forward with her story and discussed the impact social media had on her life. She said that with each sponsorship and offer to model for different brands, she became more obsessed with social media. Her obsession was forcing her to live the lifestyle that people online assumed she lived, and she could no longer enjoy being herself. Thus, she quit social media and created a video discussing her experiences. Her video is something I recommend that everyone watch: “Why I think social media sucks”

She discusses how she felt that she lost herself and was confused about where she stood.

The problem is, although social media is a great way to connect with friends, it can also force you to present yourself in a manner that’s just not you.

I’m not trying to bash anyone who enjoys social media (which would be most of us), but trying to show that it’s important to acknowledge that the same apps that we love so much can play a part in distorting our self-image.

So if you ever come across anyone who feels uncomfortable in their own skin, talk to them and help them remind themselves that they are beautiful as they are.

Thanks for reading,

Rusha