Defining ME in a world filled with clones
There is no denying that the media has a way of implementing certain standards and values in our heads, leading us to unconsciously change ourselves before knowing who we truly are. From birth, we are surrounded by models and others that do certain actions that are then enforced by society, leading to these conflicts inside.
It has become a trend to follow the media’s supposed “correct” standards, making youngsters try to please others instead of changing to fulfill themselves. Thus, many enlarge their so-called flaws due to feeling uncomfortable in their skin because of what society wants to see. It makes us lose ourselves and become the same kind of people with no uniqueness.
Beauty standards especially have been around for years. For females, the most basic one would be to wear makeup to hide any “imperfections” and to be thin while males are thought of as being tall and muscular. These norms have been set, however, only to encourage forming complexes which could lead to irreversible damage.
A senior student from Leonia High School, who wants to remain anonymous, states that “ I, myself, wanted to be labeled as visually pleasing so I did many diets but nothing seemed to work. I felt like I wasn’t good enough so I changed to feel accepted although I realized how silly I was being now”.
Another senior student, who wants to remain anonymous, says that “Social media is a big contributor to how beauty standards are set. Seeing these beautiful/cool influencers on social media, shapes society into thinking that there is a fixed cause and effect to being viewed as ‘good’ or ‘beautiful’. Many of them have amazing proportions with glowing skin and so forth”.
The media and society, in general, have been a way to stay connected to our world and communities but that also could be an issue in self-development for younger audiences especially when seeing certain body shapes or acts of being “cool”.
After being asked about self-development, the student continues with “I think we all are bound to be influenced because it’s human nature to be envious of others around us because there’s always something better. I feel pressured by society’s point of view of ideal looks in terms of beauty, though things like that shouldn’t matter, it can’t be helped”.
More people are now standing up to these standards and trying hard to change these viewpoints but the future is uncertain. We have lived thinking like this for so long that it will take more than just a few people to take charge. Hopefully, the future is more realistic to comforting/growing souls.