Lauren Gomez

Are you the same on social media as you are in real life? On social media you may see people with the lifestyle you want, with a body you want, with the stuff you want, or with the face that you want. A lot of people on the internet use filters to alter the way they look on camera, for example,  making their facial features smaller or bigger or changing the color of their hair or eyes. You can also edit your body to be shaped differently, change skin tone, or even edit out natural things like texture. It is important to know that much of what one sees on social media is fake, because when young people see this online and think it’s realistic, it can become dangerous because they then begin to compare themselves to a standard they cannot reach.

False comparisons can cause eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia. Which are very harmful to the body and can cause problems later in life as well. The young often focus on short term goals like looking a certain way over long term goals like maintaining health. Influencers advertising products can over hype or lie about what it does, such as skin care products, lotions,  and makeup. Influencers such as Mikayla Nogueira, has been seen cutting her videos and exaggerating products because she gets paid to give a good review. 

On social media you mostly see celebrities’ and influencers’ showing off things in their lives such as traveling, relationships, and their lives in general. Many of them don’t show their struggles with mental health, self image, or having a hard day or months. When their job is content creation, they put on an act when the camera turns on, just like any other actor. Their performances can make it hard for their audience to remember that the influencers and celebrities are real people with real feelings and problems too. These creators need followers to make money and there’s more money to be made in making people want to change themselves than in making people satisfied with their lives as is. It is a constant cycle of getting brand deals to do advertisements since that is where they get their income from.

People aren’t the same as they are on social media and in real life. We don’t see the flaw,  we only see what they want you to see on camera. It’s not only influencers and celebrities, the average person tends to put more of the good about their life online rather than their flaws, so others fail to see and understand the things they deal with in reality.