Kat Chandler

Professor Rodrick

English 115 (2:00-3:15)

26 September 2017

Internets Beauty Standards Do Not Define Us

Whether we want to believe it or not, the internet defines what type of beauty is acceptable in

todays society. Some may argue it is people around you who determine what is acceptable, not

internet and society. If this were true then why would people on social media have the tendency to

enhance what they do have or camouflage what they do not have. The images we live up to, from ads

on YouTube to Instagram filters, dictate what we should look like or at least should want to look like.

Beauty standards on the internet can boost production of false beauty advertisements, negatively

affect body image, and damage self-esteem when there is nothing good about altering your personal

perception of beauty to fit the mold of anything other than yourself.

Filters are beyond popular, especially the butterfly and flower filters on Snapchat and

Instagram. The skin-lightening effect causes an instability in self-image to those who naturally have

deeper skin tones. This is a prime example of how false beauty advertisements work with the social

media to sell their products. Skin-lightning creams are sold from drug stores to beauty parlor which

boost sales for those who are distributing it. According to David Fredrick, a well-known professor of

Psychology, the reason most people would say do this is because we know the digitally manipulated

lie is more appealing than the truth (Dumenco, 11). In his journal article about body image, he

discloses a lot of information based off an experiment he conducted. He took two main groups of

women and had them look at pictures of photo shopped people with disclaimers. The group who had

photos with disclaimers did not have any body image improvement. In fact, it plummeted. The

reason why the disclaimers had such a negative effect was because it voiced everything wrong with

the model that the editors had to change. On the other hand, the group without disclaimers on their
photos only had a slight decrease in self-esteem. Overall, whether or not there were disclaimers in a

photo shopped photo, the womens feelings regarding their own body image never increased. Some

may say everyone knows photo shopped is used all the time. Even if this were true, which is very

likely, does that make it not a problem. Distorted body images are carried through the internet every

day, every second. Every time we see an add, we subconsciously gain the idea that what we see will

always be accepted over what we actually look like. Unfortunately, this results in success for the

beauty markets and a failure for humanitys perception.

Sometimes our best qualities are underrated. There was a survey conducted using 1,000 girls

ages 14-17 that finds how much girls hide the great characteristics they have to be more appealing

online. According to the survey, girls downplay most prominently their intelligence, kindness, and

efforts to be a positive influence. In person, girls say they come across as smart (82%), kind (76%),

and a good influence (59%), whereas online, girls consider themselves fun (54%), funny (52%), and

social (48%) (Silver Springs, 1). Most people, typically young girls, believe social media broadcasts

sexy over brains, therefore they too must be sexy instead of intelligent. This is an understandable

way to think. Even in todays society of 2017, never has there been an average looking girl holding

textbooks while eating a Carls Junior burger. It is more like the picture on the last page. These are

thin, young woman with tanned skin and flowy hair advertising for Carls Junior burgers. The

internet describes these girls as the ultimate catch because of these features. It is okay to have a

pretty girl on TV, but to say only this body type is attractive is appalling. Some may argue having

an athletic looking model will help inspire young girls to be healthier and work out more. Although

this may be true, photos like these are not always sending that type of message. The main message

being sent to viewers is what it takes to be considered beautiful. Advertisement like these say you

must be size zero, you must have long hair, you must have tan skin, and you must not strive to be

anything else. This idea of beauty is what triggers people to have low self-esteem. The fact is low

self-esteem is a risk factor for depression says Ulrich Orth, a psychologist who studies the links
between low self-esteem and depression (Orth, 1). In order to eliminate this negative source,

commercial need to start demonstrating how every human body and brain can be appealing, not just

the stereotypical ideals.

There is a great amount of beauty regimens and workout gear that claim to be the missing

element you need to make yourself beautiful. Industries feed on the insecure. According to Kuldip

Kaur, an author of a discourse analysis advertisements promote an idealized lifestyle and

manipulate readers to a certain extent into believing whatever that is advertised is indeed true (Kaur,

1). There is always a new product that will 100% work. Whether it is a diet pill that can shrink your

waist in a day or a new makeup line that can erase all your imperfections, the industries will tell you

anything. It is strange how beauty agendas change all the time. At first the thigh-gap was idolized

and now it is the thigh brow. There are so many things that can alter our appearance, but why even

bother. Todays must have look is going to be next years dead trend. Before, larger breasts were

idolized now it is large butts. To defeat this, society must encourage different shapes and sizes,

shades and colors, everything that makes a person unique because the internet causes a subconscious

distortion to what is truly beautiful.

Overall, beauty standards change overtime. During these times, we should attack the problem

not the people. The internet plants the idea that we need improvement into our heads. It needs

limitations and a reality check. We will never look like the photo-shopped beauties on the television,

on social media, or in advertisements. The only look we will ever achieve as human beings is our

best selves. Inner beauty is much more significant than the latest thigh gap or thigh brow. The

internet may make a claim of what the standards of beauty are but at the same time they are selling

and making money off your insecurities. Social media lets beauty standards boost production of their

false beauty advertisements, increase negative ideas of body image, and worst of all damage self-

esteem. Psychologists and sociologist both have uncovered the truth to todays internet compulsion.

It dictates every part of our lives. Yes, the internet is resourceful and informative. But it also is
demanding of our attention and addictive. Yes, without the internet we would have a more difficult

time communicating to those who are far away. But, we lose the humane, genuine interaction

between two people. Everything is done online and we lose a bit of ourselves in that. We believe

what we see and never questions its darkness. We see the latest trends and go with it without

questioning. Attacking the problem at its roots means to promote positive body image instead of

trying to change it. Apps and websites are not the ones who suffer from the lasting effects of body

images. As people in the American society, we are the ones who suffer. Not everyone is insecure, but

some want to fit in; unfortunately, because of insecurity there is a dark side to everything. For some,

seeing pop-up adds of a new diet pill is a trigger. For others, a new workout machine makes them

question their appearance. For many, seeing what society idolizes makes them question if they will

ever be good enough. Beauty should not be dictated by what looks great in a magazine. Beauty is

always within and beauty standards do not define us.

 Works Cited

Frederick, David. Reducing the Negative Effects of Media Exposure on Body Image: Testing the

Effectiveness of Subvertising and Disclaimer Labels. Body Image, vol. 17, 2016, pp. 171174.

Accessed 30 September 2017.

Kaur, Kuldip. Beauty Product Advertisements: A Critical Discourse Analysis. Asian Social

Science, vol.9, no.3, 2013, pp.61-71. Accessed 30 September 2017.

Sacca, Paul. Brobible. 2015, Carls Junior. Accessed 30 September 2017.

Survey: Teen girls Online make Themselves Cooler than in Real Life. Media Report to Women,

vol.39, no.1, 2011, pp.1-1,3. Accessed 30 September 2017.