The Daunting Standards in Social Media

Lately, I’ve found myself on a constant loop of trying to make myself feel and look “better”. I’ve been trying to be more active, dancing and working out more, and attempting to eat healthier (which is difficult when you’re in college).  I have a habit of going down a rabbit hole on TikTok and Instagram reels of girls who are the idea of “perfect”. Get Ready with Me’s (GRWM), Day in My Life (DIML), and workout videos are the usual culprits that suck me into that spiral. I find myself wishing my body looked like the girls in the workout videos, and I stock up my saved reels album with workout plans that I’ll probably never end up doing. 

When you go on social media, usually what you’ll see is pictures of celebrities and influencers with expensive outfits, glam makeup, the “perfect” skinny body, and trendy new material items. When someone, like me, sees these posts and videos it can make you want the things that you don’t have, so then you fixate on trying to achieve those body goals and getting those trendy items. 

Even though there are influencers on social media who have the “perfect” bodies, there are always hateful comments talking about how the girl’s body still isn’t good enough or she isn’t pretty enough. So, when other girls see those comments, and they already don’t feel confident in their own bodies, it creates standards and unrealistic expectations for themselves. 

Although there are a lot of posts about hitting the gym to get that summer body and “what I eat in a day”, there has been an increase in posts about body positivity. Posts of women who don’t have the social media standard of the “perfect” body, but in reality, are perfect and beautiful in their own way. 

There’s been a change in inclusivity of plus size models, for example in October of 2024 Victorias Secret included two plus-sized models Ashley Graham and Paloma Elsesser. When young girls and women see representation of bodies that used to be considered not “perfect” in the past, it can create more confidence in themselves. It shows that even if you are a chubby girl, you can still feel beautiful and sexy in Victoria’s Secret and PINK clothing items that were originally marketed for skinny bodies. 

At times I still find myself falling down those rabbit holes, but I’ve started focusing more on being healthy and trying to become more graceful with myself by remind myself that I am perfect and beautiful in my own way. 

• #beauty
• #social media
• college
• fashion
• mental health