Engineered Beauty and Perfection

With modern technology came the dawn of social media, which has quickly taken over the lives of millennials.  More than ever, people are obsessed with creating social media profiles that portray their so called “perfect lives.”  However, these social media profiles are not always what they seem.  Many people post photos that are photoshopped, or do not accurately portray the life that the individual is living.  Instagram and Facebook create the sense that every user has the “ideal” perfect life, as seen through the lens of the edited photo that was handpicked from hundreds of photos that were taken.  Not only is this lifestyle detrimental to those who are posting and feel the constant need to update the world on what they are doing at all times, it is detrimental to those following these profiles as well.  Whether it is celebrities that seem to be doing the coolest things and eating at the coolest dinner spots or just close friends that post pictures whenever they are with their friends or doing something noteworthy, it makes the viewer feel as though their life is inadequate.  All the while, the people posting the pictures of these seemingly happy lives could be the ones who are the most depressed or unfulfilled with their life. 

This is also seen within the fashion world when it comes to photo shoots and magazine covers.  The production of these photo shoots involves photoshop that makes the person modeling seem to have the perfect body, hair, or makeup, when in real life they are not perfect.  This is skewing viewers idea of what beauty is.  Young girls looking at most magazines begin to believe that under nourished thin white women are the epitome of beauty simply because that is who these magazines choose to put on their covers.  It is beginning to change societal expectations of women and of women’s expectations of themselves.  They are becoming unrealistic and women who are trying to imitate this look are beginning to become unhealthy both mentally and physically.