On the other hand, the stress we continue to see online is a vicious cycle that is destroying lives one click at a time.
In particular, men and women struggle with identity issues due to the unrealistic beauty standards they see on social media.
Many have developed serious mental health issues, identity issues and body dysmorphia from trying to emulate beauty standards that are simply unattainable.
How do we separate the real from the fake and how do we protect ourselves from the dark side of social media?
Just as most of us use social media to promote ourselves, tons of celebrities, influencers, models and brands, also use it to market themselves by creating an image of perfection.
It’s hard not to see the plethora of perfectly toned beauties, flat stomachs, plump breasts, impossibly long legs and perky, perfectly round butts.
Thousands of Instagram accounts promote pictures of perfectly chiseled men and women.
We may believe we’re mindlessly scrolling through such content, our subconscious soaks it all in, and before we know it, perfectly formed bodies have become the standard by which we measure everything.
Within this false world of idealism lies an obvious problem. Thousands of celebrities and models on social media document their workout routines, diets and other aspects of their lifestyle that contribute to the way they look. There is only one problem with this industry; It’s all fake.
Misrepresentations and unrealistic standards
An Instagram model can post a picture of herself in a bikini, showing off her toned stomach, holding a weight loss tea supplement. Her title suggests that supplementation is the secret to her chiseled physique.
This alone sends a very dangerous message to his millions of followers, most of whom are impressionable young women.
While this is spreading the idea that supplements, diet pills and detox teas are the best way to achieve her body type, in reality it couldn’t be further from the truth.
More often than not, her look is a combination of the gym, plastic surgery and liberal retouching.
Her job is to look perfect and promote business. This creates an unrealistic beauty standard for all their followers who believe this product is their ticket to the perfect body.
In fact, a perfect body does not exist. A tremendous amount of planning, makeup and photo editing went into the final Instagram picture she posted. It is designed to sell a product, not support a healthy lifestyle.
Every day, we come across the hashtag ‘body goals’ or ‘thinspo’, which serves as an inspiration to get a slimmer body.
Basically, social media tells us that we have to be beautiful to be worth it, which couldn’t be further from the truth.
According to eating disorder statistics estimated by the National Eating Disorders Association, about 30 million people in the USA suffer from an eating disorder such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge eating disorder. Worldwide, this figure stands at 70 million sufferers.
There is a positive correlation between the rise of social media and the rise of eating disorders among young adults. Many are thereby trying to imitate the types of bodies they see and doing more physical and psychological harm to themselves.
A riot of beauty
In a kickback against the destructive effects of social media, especially with young people already struggling to understand themselves and where they fit in, a bunch of accounts have popped up on Instagram revealing the truth behind those ‘perfect’ pictures. Accounts like @celebface may seem like they’re picking on people but in reality, social media is nothing but smoke and mirrors and created to remind us that we’re not just humans with such high self-esteem.
Celeb Face will make you feel better about yourself and say ‘celebrities are just like us!!!’ You can see their pores and fine lines, and they also use FaceTune. The account reveals before-and-after surgery shots of celebrities and influencers so we can see that some of these ‘ideal’ bodies are crazy-making. Overall, it reminds us not to be too hard on ourselves.