"Instagram and Snapchat are affecting teens' body image. We've long understood that movies, magazines and television damage teens' body image by enforcing a “thin ideal.” Less known is the impact of social media on body confidence. Social media has also become a toxic mirror."
- Time Magazine
August 19, 2016
With buys, likes, and filters at the tip of our fingers; is 2017 the end of real, raw beauty and the beginning of free photo shop applications? Is this really how low our society has gotten? More of this, less of that? Is altering our body and face really that easy? Yes, beautifying is just as easy as a free, quick download to spike ones self confidence. I mean, just ask and look around. How have we become so digitalized?
Is the mockery of celebritism at an all time high and is being 'real' and 'normal' seriously that over rated?
July of 2016, I decided to delete my Instagram. (Gasp) My phone was being blown up asking why I deleted it, as if I committed a crime because I was simply over the phony posts, the pressured looks and the staged digital platform. Reality, flaws, and realness- that is beauty and art. A single moment is worth a thousand words and a single photo is worth, what, a free, edited upload for others to see?
I felt as if I had become addicted to my phone, constantly scrolling through this application, being so hard on myself because I didn't look like this or that, trapped inside an Instagram world. It was as if I was physically attached to this universe where I had to look a certain way in a selfie or I had to pose and coordinate things around me to get the very best angle. The constant checking to see who posted what, and who liked what was irritating and unnecessary. I found that users staged and practiced the perfect caption, the perfect filter with intentions to show-off. Getting worked up for something fake? Not worth it.
Not only is beautification pressured by social media portals, but it provokes drama. The reality of social stalkers is real. The boredom game of snooping through profiles is done by those who find pleasure in other individuals 'flaws'. The online world allows bullies to become critics by putting them down by easy accessibility. This is exactly what is wrong with this technological, social society. We care more about what others are posting, we care more about who and when a person 'liked' something and we care less about important situations such as sitting around a table, studying in a classroom, and listening to a lecture because it's just so 'difficult' when a cellular device is at hand with fancy, addicting applications.
Fun Fact:
Kendall Jenner took a break from social media as well. The 21-year-old model's IG account disappeared on Sunday, November 13, 2016 allowing the model to relax and unwind, away from the digital light.
My suggestion?
If you find yourself feeling down because of social media pressures, step away from the application world. Look into a mirror, not an IG front-faced camera. Realize you are beautiful just the way you are.
The truth is, the people that mean the most are the ones you physically spend time with, not the ones who like your pictures first or who comment on them first. Don't be naive and lost in this fantasy application era, the new high. Zooming out of reality will make you greatly regret it one day because you'll realize you will never be able to get physical memories back and the only memories you made were the pictures you had on Instagram and else where.
We are trapped inside this fake, digital world. Prioritize and realize your true, physical worth. Likes, come and go. Posts, are modified and altered. Be true to you, be good to your mental and physical health.
