Kavya E. California

How Does Social Media Affect Body Image?

Young people and teens need to see that beauty is natural and comparing themselves to other people isn’t necessary and can be stopped by limiting how much editing goes into a model’s picture.

Dear Future President,

91% of women are unhappy about their bodies and try dieting. Only 5% of women naturally have body type shown by Americans in media. In addition to that, 40% of men and 20% of women said that cosmetic surgery was an option they’re considering.Social media should show young teens that young people don’t have to fit the ideal body image and the first reason is that makeup rates have gone up by 20% because of pressure to fit the beauty norm since the year 2008 and that including women who don’t fit the beauty standard in ads can increase the sales and make people feel better about themselves.

People who don’t fit the beauty standard often get criticized and backlash because of their appearance because, since the year 2008, the percentage of makeup has increased by 20% because of the pressure to fit the beauty mark.Since the year 2008, the cosmetic rate has increased to 20% due to increased beauty pressure and having to look pretty all the time. Many ads, nowadays, have gone through a photo editor process. This removes wrinkles or any unattractive features. This makes the model look even better and can cause the people that see the ad to feel worse about themselves and buy that product to look attractive. The model’s picture goes through editing to give it a final finish.

Including or representing women who don’t fit the beauty mark can help similar women feel confident and show other women that everyone is beautiful.Dove, the soap company featured plus size woman in the ads. Another company, called Aerie says that after doing the same thing, their sales went up by 9%. Many people around the world, now feel like people need to give them compliments so that person feels noticed and beautiful. The third component is that everyone who is beautiful gets noticed or recognized very easily. If people start to wear makeup, their hopes are that people think they’re pretty and will only start to feel noticed from then. But, the sad truth is that people are beautiful from the inside out. 

However, letting teens use photo editing apps can let the teens see what their face looks like and how to fix it. It will help teens see how to improve or hide their wrinkles or acne. Society can give suggestions on what beauty products to look to make their skin look more bright and pure. It can help them see how different makeup products will look on their face and if young people like the product. Many people can help change their way of life by using less sensitive products on their skin. 

Overall, this is an epidemic and it needs to stop immediately. Letting children feel bad about themselves isn’t an option. First, you need to tell advertisers to stop photo editing their models and just the picture out there. Beauty is natural and imperfections are natural. Don’t let your teens compare themselves to other people because they are better than that. 

Thanks,

Kavya

Diablo Vista Middle School

Zhebel - English 8

Zhebel - English 8

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