Social media portrays an image of perfection. Many teenagers and young adults compare themselves to this image and believe that they are not good enough. I often find myself looking at my reflection and picking out, what I believe are my imperfections. When in reality they are not imperfections but unique perfections I should be proud of. Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and other social media outlets continuously to put out false images of what one should look like. The so called “perfect” image of a young women in our generation is one that is very skinny, but still is able to manage to have a curvy body.
The value of a perfect body image runs the school I go to and the community of Manhattan Beach. From a young man’s perspective I witness many young girls trying to fit the mold of what it means to be perfect. From shorter shorts to see through shirts, girls want to try and expose their body image to not only catch the guys’ eyes, but also to make their fellow peers jealous of how they look. Along with those who believe they fit the image, most girls believe their body isn’t good enough. This “perfect” image can cause girls to drive themselves to the brink of despair and do anything to become something they truly aren’t.
These young women who believe their body isn’t good enough can often result in the worst of extremes, an eating disorder. An eating disorder is a serious condition that is related to persistent eating behaviors that negatively impact your health, your emotions and your ability to function in important areas of life. There are three different kinds of eating disorders, binge-eating – people with binge-eating disorder often are overweight or obese. They also experience guilt, shame, and distress about their binge-eating, which can lead to more binge-eating. Bulimia nervosa, people with bulimia nervosa have frequent episodes of eating unusually large amounts of food and feeling a lack of control over these episodes. This binge-eating is followed by behavior that compensates for the overeating such as forced vomiting and/or excessive exercise. Anorexia Nervosa – people with anorexia nervosa see themselves as overweight, even when they are clearly underweight. Food, and weight control become obsessions. People with anorexia nervosa typically weigh themselves repeatedly, portion food carefully, and eat very small quantities of only certain foods. All of these types of eating disorders cause immense pain and stress on your body. There is no reason why any young women should have to go through the extremes to feel accepted in her body. There is no “perfect” image, no matter how big or small, fat or skinny, young women should be comfortable in the body they were blessed with to have. Everyone is unique and special in their own distinct way. Everyone is beautiful and society shouldn’t impact the thoughts of young women and the way they look.
