After today's discussion, I kept thinking about different reasons why body image is exceedingly important today or why eating disorders are so high. Then, I did what I do best - procrastinate. In other words, I went on facebook. As I scrolled through my news feed, I was bombarded with images of people's exciting spring breaks. Without realizing it, I was thinking, "wow, she has such a flat stomach!" I stopped mid thought and realized social networking sites like facebook, twitter, and instagram can be outlets that provide even more pressure for reaching an ideal body image.
Thanks to photoshop, professional cameras, or other photo editing technology, anyone can look like anything. Still, seeing "friends" post pictures makes the ideal body image seem more real. Let's be honest, most people aren't going to post pictures where they look bad. It's so easy to get caught up scrolling through a friend's album - and before you know it, you're on a diet.
I know this isn't true for everyone. It's just another form of pressure I realized existed and we hadn't discussed yet.
I was JUST doing the same exact thing, Harleen!
ReplyDeleteFor pretty much the past hour (how pathetic?), I was procrastinating on starting my homework by going on Facebook and judging other people's spring breaks by their pictures. Its amazing what US culture has shaped us to define as a norm. We judge people based on their skinny-ness, their happiness, their wealthy adventures, etc. But why are we stuck in the virtual world rather than living our own personal lives? Society has placed quite strange priorities on what we should focus how to live our lives in.
This unfortunate truth is quite pitiful. After coming back from my Alternative Break trip from Guatemala, this truth is ever more present. Guatemalans are not equip with technology we have here. They live their lives quite freely and openly. Instead of judging others in the virtual world, complete strangers in the street are their family. We should all try to emulate their lifestyle by getting off our laptops, stop judging others, and live our own life (sorry for getting a little sidetracked...I just really want to go back :] )
Hope I got the idea across!