Teens & Social Media: Beauty Standards Traps, Let's Boost Self-Confidence!

Hey, Beauty Besties! Scrolling through social media and constantly seeing ‘perfect’ things? Turns out, beauty standards on social media can make many teenagers, and even us, feel insecure. Let’s talk about the impact so we can be smarter social media users!

Key Points For Us:

• Social Media Standards: Fair skin, slim bodies, and sharp noses have become benchmarks that obsess many people.
• Influencers & Reality: The ‘perfect’ image of influencers is often far from reality, yet many are looked up to.
• Shifting Priorities: Teenagers can focus on their appearance for social media rather than academics, even breaking school rules.
• Psychological Pressure: Constantly seeing the ‘ideal’ makes one feel insecure and like something is always lacking.
• Illusion Filters: Filters can be addictive and lead to dissatisfaction with oneself, even encouraging dangerous actions.
• Health Threats: For the sake of beauty, many resort to dangerous substances, extreme diets, or illegal plastic surgery.
• New Stereotypes: Global beauty standards on social media are changing local perceptions, not aligning with Indonesia’s context.
• The Working World: ‘Good looking’ is becoming a job requirement, overshadowing achievements and reducing self-confidence.

The Tyranny of the Screen: Beauty Standards in the Digital Age

In this all-online era, social media has become a sudden beauty guru for all of us. From Instagram, TikTok, to Twitter, the content is all about the ideal appearance: glowing skin, voluminous straight hair, a model-like slim body, towering posture, and a stunningly sharp nose. It’s no wonder so many of us, especially girls, desperately want to achieve these standards. It feels like there’s a mandatory ‘ritual’ to constantly strive to match what’s displayed on screen.

Influencers: Role Models or Obsession Triggers?

Behind the social media screen, there are influencers whose styles are always incredibly chic. But, this is where the gap lies between the real world and their seemingly ‘perfect’ world. Unfortunately, many teenage girls idolize these influencers, even though what we see in photos or videos isn’t necessarily 100% reality. Have you heard of Tasya Farasya? She’s one of many people’s favorite beauty influencers. Through her content spread across Instagram and YouTube, she gives us a lot of information about makeup and beauty products. Not just for us, but even makeup artists often find inspiration in her. The beauty knowledge spread by influencers like Tasya is one of the factors that makes beauty standards in society more ‘generalized,’ meaning uniform.

When Social Media Changes Teenagers’ Priorities

Imagine opening social media every day to find trendy makeup tutorials, tips for stylish outfits, and the latest fashion info from influencers. It’s no wonder that over time, teenagers, especially those still in school, become heavily influenced. What used to be focused on studying or doing homework is now more about physical appearance. The access is also very easy, right? Want to see how to do makeup for school? There are tutorials. Want to know how to take care of yourself to get glowing skin? There are plenty of videos. This leads some teenagers to adopt lifestyles that sometimes don’t align with rules, for example, creating makeup content during school hours. Focus on studying can be lost, and they might even get reprimanded for bringing a makeup pouch to school. The proof is, sometimes student bags are found to contain beauty products.

Psychological Pressure: Constantly Feeling Not Enough

The beauty standards that pop up on social media every second truly make many people insecure about themselves, especially for us teenagers. We become more critical of our appearance, feeling like something is always lacking. Yet, adolescence is a golden age to focus on learning and shaping the future, not worrying about unrealistic beauty standards. Social media also makes us feel like we absolutely must look ‘ideal’ – thin, fair-skinned, and following the latest fashion trends – to get praise and validation from others. It’s no wonder many young people become obsessed with chasing a ‘perfect’ appearance, often aided by filters that make faces ‘auto-glowing.’ Ultimately, a gap forms between our online selves and reality.

Filters: Between the Illusion of Beauty and Self-Obsession

Filters on social media are incredibly sophisticated; they can change skin tone, face shape, and even our bodies to look ‘different.’ However, the effects can be negative, leading to dissatisfaction with ourselves. The difference between our real faces and those filtered can trigger an obsession to permanently alter our appearance. Worse still, sometimes this obsession can lead people to resort to dangerous methods.

Hidden Dangers Behind Instant ‘Beauty’

The insecurity caused by frequently seeing beauty filters can truly make people desperate. Many end up tempted to try various treatments that are actually dangerous to meet beauty standards. Starting from the long-term skin-damaging use of mercury, body-torturing extreme diets, to the most extreme choice: plastic surgery. Not to mention how easy it is nowadays to find promotions for plastic surgery clinics abroad, offering tempting prices. But, be careful, Beauty Besties. ‘Shady’ clinics carry very high risks! Serious physical complications, infections, bleeding, nerve damage, and even paralysis can occur. Not to mention the psychological impact, like never being satisfied with the results, and expectations that don’t match reality.

Globalization of Beauty: New Terrifying Stereotypes

Nowadays, beauty standards from social media have become benchmarks for many people when judging others’ appearances. Globalization, technology, and social media have completely changed our perception of beauty. Previously, Indonesian beauty was more about exotic tanned skin, fitting our race. Now? What’s considered beautiful is fair skin, a slim body, large eyes, straight hair, and a sharp nose. This is a significant challenge, especially when talking about fair skin in Indonesia, where the weather is very hot. It’s very difficult to maintain, isn’t it?

Beauty Standards Extend to the Working World, You Know!

It’s not just in social life; these beauty standards have surprisingly spread to the working world. Have you ever seen job vacancies that list requirements like ‘attractive appearance’ or ‘good looking’? Well, that indirectly refers to the beauty standards that are currently trending on social media. This becomes a burden for job applicants, especially women, who don’t fit those criteria. As a result, achievements and hard work can be outcompeted by physical appearance. Over time, the self-confidence of some women can crumble, making them feel unworthy of appearing in public. It’s so sad, isn’t it?