Think about your life 10 years ago. How did you feel about yourself? Did you like the way you looked? Were you confident in your own skin? Take a moment to reflect and ask yourself the same questions now. How are your answers different?
10 years ago, I was only in the fourth grade. When youâre a kid, you see the world so much differently than when youâre an adult. At the age of nine, I saw myself as beautiful. I would wear clothes that made me feel good and I didnât feel the urge to constantly cover up my insecurities. Sometimes I ask myself why things are different now. Why do I conform to internet clothing trends so easily? Or why do I put on concealer whenever I leave the house, just so no one can see my dark circles?
When it comes down to it, I look at social media as a catalyst for this change. I donât want anyone to think I blame social media solely because I donât. Insecurity is a product of many, many things and I donât think it can be reduced to one factor. That being said, social media does happen to be a big factor that should be talked about.
From a young age, weâve all been exposed to the internet, and itâs been becoming more prominent as the years go by. Itâs easy to be influenced by what we see online, more so at a young age. Starting from the mid-2000s, thereâs been a larger and stronger focus on influencers and public figures, such as the Kardashians. When influencers are in the public eye, we pick apart everything they do. We analyze what they eat, wear and even say. Itâs only obvious that we follow in their footsteps. Looking back at the Kardashians, the majority of people want to be them in some way. The internet has made it a trend to have a tiny waist and huge glutes, and people follow suit. Brands even have clothing designed to give you that effectâcommonly called the âBBL effectâ (a highlight on the âBrazilian Butt Liftâ aspect). We idolize people with the well-known Kardashian figure, calling them beautiful, sexy and gorgeous, and they may be. But this raises the question: why do we feel the need to put down people who donât meet this standard?Â
The truth is most women donât meet this standard. We donât all have petite waists and we donât all have asses that look like the peach emoji. We are all womenâwe have cellulite, hormone changes, stretch marks and so much more that makes us human, but we are constantly shamed for it on the internet. Admittedly, itâs not an outright kind of shaming. Perhaps itâs an over-glorification of the âperfectionâ we consume daily. This consumption starts off small, but it adds up and hurts our mental health. Soon you start stressing over what to wearâperhaps baggy sweatpants to hide your ass since itâs not big, like it should be. Or maybe a larger T-Shirt to avoid exposing your stomach rolls. Are you going out? Wear some lip-plumping gloss to really get that Kylie Jenner effect.Â
Small things like that add up, and soon enough, youâre no longer comfortable within your own skin. Youâre a stranger to who you used to beâthe child 10 years ago who did things that made them feel good. Itâs hard to feel disconnected from yourself. Itâs something that alienates you from the people around you and more importantly yourself. It hurts to try to live up to a social media standard that is nearly impossible to live up to and it hurts to not even be accepted by yourself.Â
I canât offer up solutions in this article; after all, Iâm the same as you. What I can tell you is that you arenât alone, and your feelings are absolutely valid. Beauty standards are constantly imposed upon women and itâs hard to fight them, especially at such a young age. Take this as a sign to find what makes you feel good. Whether itâs clothes, makeup or even interests, take some time and remember yourself 10 years ago. Give her some love and donât forget about her in a society thatâs filled with unattainable beauty. You deserve to feel comfortable in your own skin and youâre worthy of your own love.Â