Virality Over Originality: Fake Beauty Standards Setting the Bars High.
Priyanshi | Mar 04, 2025, 20:48 IST
Have you ever felt someone influence you against your will? Well, that happens when hoax beauty standards penetrate your mind, making you a conduit to change into something you are not. Social media has definitely been a bane to all of us in a countless number of ways, but what of its ill effects? With the advent of digital media and technology, over the past couple of years, unnatural beauty standards have been displayed. Beauty especially has become more about what others would like to see in you rather than how you want to see yourself.
With this rat race of gaining followers, likes, and shares, people have lost their originality and succumbed to accepting and replicating fake beauty standards. Filters, cosmetic surgeries, AI-generated imagery the current generation has seen it all. The question we should be asking ourselves is, are we losing the old self in this process of earning validation from others?
“Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder,” quoted by someone who perhaps would have seen beauty in the form of someone’s emotional intellect because in this era what defines beauty is completely changed. Influenced by various factors: culture, expectations, media, and societal norms. Digital platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat will be hard to believe upon, but we are all victims of their algorithms and unrealistic beauty expectations.
Edited pictures and videos that enhance your overall look have gained subsequent popularity because of how good they make us feel, hiding our real selves to display our real selves. A very threadlike veil has been elevated that distinguishes between the word reality and fantasy. For that we have AI to thank.
On Instagram we witness countless models and influencers with their perfectly plump skin, no dark circles, sculpted jawline, and perfect face orientation, all a prime example of how media is manipulating our worldview.
Natural beauty nowadays seems inadequate, altering someone’s appearance, which might make you feel good for a second but then back to reality?
Beauty influencers play a major hand in setting these standards. Their perfectly curated feed, flawless skin, often featuring monetized advertisements and sponsored beauty products that promise to make you look and feel like this in no time, has completely destroyed the definition of real beauty. Agreed, these stunts they pull off get them viral, but what about someone’s self-esteem that has been compromised after seeing such impeccable artists?
Plastic surgery has gained widespread popularity. Lip injections, Botox, and fillers have surfaced due to social media influence. It has also given rise to terms such as “social media dysmorphia,” where individuals seek cosmetic procedures to elevate their beauty. Which has further led to a rise in body image issues, especially among teenagers and young adults who are pressured into looking like this, to what they see online.
These questions often arise in our minds; not being able to achieve them could lead us directly into the trap of superficial concerns and body dysmorphia. People are constantly comparing them to each other, drawing conclusions based on how they look and appeal to others. This relates to dissatisfaction with your natural features.
Pushing highly edited content filtered by algorithms gives rise to the culture of comparison amongst one another. Social media prioritizes engagement and visibility, often promoting unattainable beauty standards. The rise of social media algorithms has completely distorted reality, making individuals believe that perfection is the new normal, when rather it’s not.
In this mirage of a world, where individuality is no longer acceptable, the persuasive nature of social media has defined the norms of beauty. How do we know the real person behind this illusion of surgeries and filters? These influences have a profound impact on individuals emotional, psychological, and physical well-being.
What we can do is embrace our true selves, showcasing the strength we hold as a person of different race, color, and orientation. Let’s decide what we want for ourselves rather than letting influencers choose who we are and what we can be. Let’s dismantle this media stigma that has resurrected our unique self.
The rise of unrealistic beauty standards
rise of unrealistic standards
“Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder,” quoted by someone who perhaps would have seen beauty in the form of someone’s emotional intellect because in this era what defines beauty is completely changed. Influenced by various factors: culture, expectations, media, and societal norms. Digital platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat will be hard to believe upon, but we are all victims of their algorithms and unrealistic beauty expectations.
Edited pictures and videos that enhance your overall look have gained subsequent popularity because of how good they make us feel, hiding our real selves to display our real selves. A very threadlike veil has been elevated that distinguishes between the word reality and fantasy. For that we have AI to thank.
On Instagram we witness countless models and influencers with their perfectly plump skin, no dark circles, sculpted jawline, and perfect face orientation, all a prime example of how media is manipulating our worldview.
Natural beauty nowadays seems inadequate, altering someone’s appearance, which might make you feel good for a second but then back to reality?
Beauty influencers play a major hand in setting these standards. Their perfectly curated feed, flawless skin, often featuring monetized advertisements and sponsored beauty products that promise to make you look and feel like this in no time, has completely destroyed the definition of real beauty. Agreed, these stunts they pull off get them viral, but what about someone’s self-esteem that has been compromised after seeing such impeccable artists?
Plastic surgery has gained widespread popularity. Lip injections, Botox, and fillers have surfaced due to social media influence. It has also given rise to terms such as “social media dysmorphia,” where individuals seek cosmetic procedures to elevate their beauty. Which has further led to a rise in body image issues, especially among teenagers and young adults who are pressured into looking like this, to what they see online.
What if we fail to look like him or her?
what if i dont look like her
These questions often arise in our minds; not being able to achieve them could lead us directly into the trap of superficial concerns and body dysmorphia. People are constantly comparing them to each other, drawing conclusions based on how they look and appeal to others. This relates to dissatisfaction with your natural features.
Pushing highly edited content filtered by algorithms gives rise to the culture of comparison amongst one another. Social media prioritizes engagement and visibility, often promoting unattainable beauty standards. The rise of social media algorithms has completely distorted reality, making individuals believe that perfection is the new normal, when rather it’s not.
The illusion
What we can do is embrace our true selves, showcasing the strength we hold as a person of different race, color, and orientation. Let’s decide what we want for ourselves rather than letting influencers choose who we are and what we can be. Let’s dismantle this media stigma that has resurrected our unique self.