Social Media and the Industry of Insecurity

In an age of social media, self-worth has become a commodity. With the success of image-centric media, a new tool has emerged to harness the greatest economic gain possible from it. This is namely the industry of insecurity, an entire segment of business that aims solely to promote insecurities as a means for capital gain. 

Essentially, the social media marketing industry has been constructed to exploit vulnerabilities for profit. Targeting perceived imperfections fuels a desire to mask them, and thus cultivates a need for these products. Consumers have become victims to monetary gain. There is no winning in a fight between young, malleable minds and experts of influence. Tactics need not discriminate, as these industries capitalize off of universal aspects of being. There are seemingly no boundaries to the extent this can reach. Messages of inadequacy flood every form of media that it is possible to interact with, ensuring that no matter where you are, exposure is guaranteed.

It’s a tool that has thrived through social media. Images of features that are simply unattainable dominate our feeds, allowing for a sense of inadequacy to come to fruition. Comparison is the thief of joy, and through this, the desire to change emerges. We are sold the notion that we will never be enough. That with this product, whether it be a new diet, workout equipment, or makeup, we will be closer to being free of our “faults”. While it is not necessarily that the products are inherently wrong, but the tactics utilized in order to sell them definitely are.

Almost always, the characteristics that are focused on are those that are the most common attributes to be found. Whether it be a larger nose or body, the spotlight remains on the element that is most ordinary. This is not by mistake. By targeting the ordinary, there is a hope that it will bring in the largest economic gain for the company. Directing campaigns at a small segment of society would never be as successful as targeting the biggest group. Every move is calculated to cultivate the greatest amount of insecurity possible in hopes for monetary gain.

Perhaps the most prominent use of insecurity marketing comes in the form of diet culture. A pervasive message that smaller is automatically more worthy dominates the messaging of these companies. Diets are sold as one size fits all “solutions” for issues that are not even there. It is simply a fallacy being preached to garner more wealth. Health is not measured by the size of one’s body, but rather various other lifestyle factors. Even still, diet companies continue to push their message with the full knowledge that these diets are actually more likely to fail than not, and keep you paying for more. 

These companies will never offer solutions to the proposed issues they perpetuate. Rather, the products are temporary fixes that allow for dependency on them to mask these so-called imperfections. What results is a cycle of profit at the expense of the consumer’s well being. True solutions would mean that the profit would end with one purchase. However, even with the product in question, the results would never equal this shining image of so-called perfection companies preach. 

Through years of exposure to these falsehoods, we unknowingly internalize the messaging and fall into the traps being set out. There is a reason that for many of us, these insecurities that we possess only emerge as we grow older. They are not inherent. Children do not recognize these perceived faults as anything short of normal. Yet so many of us live in accordance with this insecurity, as avoidance is easier said than done. Reaching a breaking point is inevitable, and with this, we succumb to the comparison. 

It doesn’t have to be this way though. There are no limits to our power as consumers. With mindful purchases, we can choose the messages that thrive. Insecurities should not determine the ways in which we choose to live, especially when they stem from media marketing. Ultimately, the greatest weapon of all is to choose to accept every aspect of yourself, despite what is being promoted. 

• insecurity
• marketing
• social media