Everyone on twitter has an array of people they’re following as well as an array of followers. Now I’m not sure about your specific timeline, but mine is a mix of memes, dogs, politics, current events, Dolly Parton, and most interestingly, beauty.
It’s not the 30 second beauty tutorials you see on your Instagram discover page, but it’s still beauty. There’s social commentary from big brands advocating women’s freedom to explore beauty.
There’s a variety of looks being served from all countries, backgrounds, races, religions, genders, and standards.
It’s most significant contribution, however, is to that standard of what we consider beautiful. Social media runs our world and shapes our expectations and with that, naturally, defines our condition. Often on Instagram or Snapchat we see targeted ads that only show the most traditionally beautiful women in our society. Don’t get me wrong, I think the Kardashians and Jenners and Hadids are insanely beautiful women, and if I looked like them I’d be ecstatic, but I don’t because I’m a normal woman.
I’m a woman that struggles with bloating, cellulite, occasional acne, and bad hair days. Most women do, and if you don’t, that’s awesome and congratulations to you (but we can’t be friends)! We don’t always get to feel as beautiful as we might be because of this societal pressure that runs rampant through aggressive targeted marketing. These companies are smart, they know their audience and their audience’s expectations, but the influence they’re having is bigger than we realize. Social media has been linked to higher levels of loneliness, envy, anxiety, depression, narcissism, and decreased social skills.
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60% of people using social media reported that it has impacted their self-esteem in a negative way
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50% reported social media having negative effects on their relationships
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80% reported that is easier to be deceived by others through their sharing on social media
While I’ve done a detox of Instagram and Facebook for these very reasons, I have found that Twitter has yet to present the same problems. Whereas other social media sites give you the chance to edit your life and portray yourself as a different person, Twitter doesn’t give you so much opportunity. You’re experiencing a dialogue of more thought provoking ideas than a picture of someone’s Music Midtown raves or their avocado toast.
Twitter doesn’t conceal. For better or worse, you can scroll unfiltered through some pretty interesting content. You can see the good, the bad, and the disturbing, but you can see the real. Twitter is the “getting coffee” of dates; casual and relaxed. No one, or at least no one in my circle, is checking their Twitter followers to see any signs of betrayal like they do Instagram. It’s about being a real, unfiltered person, which is something reflected in the standards it creates for the beautiful.
Twitter has pages for women of color (@MakeupForWOC), men (@MMUK_MensMakeUp), those with disabilities (@JordanBone1), and those in between (@glowkit), and yet each of these people is renowned for their skill and dedication to the art of beauty and each of them considered beautiful in their own way.
Maybe it’s the fact that comments don’t show up directly under that perfect selfie you just posted, but there’s something about Twitter that provides a sense of empowerment to the user. You are free to be as you are, in fact encouraged to do so, in a community of people doing the same. Every person, facetuned or not, has a chance to be beautiful. It is no longer a sea of selfies, belfies, frat parties, concerts, or outings, but rather you, a person of great value and worth, entering a conversation. The tweet above yours might be politics, and the tweet below might be another take on the baby shark song, but there you are; fierce as you should be.
Twitter is a community, a casual and strange community, that gives you the chance to depict your life untouched, unedited, and beautiful anyways. There are no models every 5th post (depending on who you follow, I suppose), there isn’t really FOMO, and there’s less of a sense that you’re the only one who doesn’t have perfect skin and a six pack.
Twitter is there for you to redefine your standards and let it be known that you are beautiful, bringing every unique thing about you into a glorious symphony of awesomeness. You might not be a model, but you’re surely good enough to be your real self. Let the world see you as you are.