The #dontjudgechallenge, also known as the #waynereillychallenge, was started by a teen named Wayne Andrew Reilly. The videos contain a teen showing the viewers their “ugly” self, typically covered with acne, glasses, gap teeth, unibrow, and other “flaws.” They cover the screen with their hand, and when they take their hand off, their “beautiful” self fills the screen: a made-up, cleaned up, physically fit version of themselves.

Some people say that the original goal of the challenge was to fight “body shaming.” I think this has done the opposite. These teens show that their “true” selves clearly put a lot of make up on and use a good amount of hair product to look as stunning and sexy as they possibly can. I’m not saying that make up and hair products are bad, but when it comes to showing someone’s “true” self, those should not be the key components to achieving "natural" beauty.

This video is giving viewers the message that a unibrow, gap teeth, glasses and acne are not beautiful, and that one can only be considered attractive without these imperfections. This sends a message to teens they are not beautiful if they have “flaws.” Teens, and even adults, struggle with their body image. These videos show imperfections that most people can’t help. Therefore, does that mean people who wear glasses aren’t beautiful? Or people that have acne? Or teeth gaps? Or a unibrow? The #dontjudgechallenge is setting a beauty standard for society most people may not be able to achieve.

Unfortunately, the younger generation bases their beauty standards on what they see through social media. I am as guilty as the next person when it comes to this. These videos, while they may have intended to say everyone is beautiful, doesn’t aid the fight against “body shaming.”