I am perfect. I wake up naturally glowing with my hair curled in effortless waves. I don’t get acne or any bloating after eating a full meal. That’s the perceived image that social media would want you to believe.
Nowadays, the common use of Facetune and how people angle themselves in photos can deceive the naked eye. It distorts our perception of reality and causes us to scrutinize ourselves for not being “perfect.” We tend to see this one-dimensional look from influencers online and use that as a societal standard for what beauty is. It forces us to believe that if you don’t fit a certain cookie-cutter mold then you aren’t seen as conventionally attractive and that can be extremely harmful towards an impressionable younger generation.
Nevertheless, beauty is about more than our outward appearance. Beauty stems from the inside — it’s how we treat and care for others. I believe that if we all start by giving ourselves the same positivity as we would give to others, we would be more accepting of ourselves and our “flaws.” We need to realize that this standard of beauty seen through social media shouldn’t be taken at face value. Beauty comes in all different shapes, colors and sizes. There is no “one-size-fits-all” for what is considered beautiful and perfect. Everything is relative, as beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
As a society, I feel as if we should be more uplifting and less harsh towards how we perceive ourselves. It’s said that we are our own harshest critic, and that’s extremely true in these instances. Those minor imperfections you notice about yourself are barely detectable to others. Yet, we critique our appearance in photos so in-depth, only to end up deleting them if they aren’t “perfect.” A movement towards empowerment and loving yourself for who you are is what we should strive for.