Under the Filter: Appearance Anxiety in the Age of Social Media
In a society where the Internet of Things is evolving and social media is becoming the norm, people are paying more and more attention to their appearance. However, this excessive pursuit of "perfect image" often leads to increased appearance anxiety.
This article will explore the reasons for the increase of people's appearance anxiety in the age of social media, and propose corresponding strategies.
First of all, the popularity of social media has made it easy for people to share their lives and appearances, which has made people more sensitive to their appearance. Anxiety can arise as soon as you notice that your appearance is different from that of others.
In addition, the "perfect image" on social media can also have an impact on people's perceptions of appearance, making people more and more demanding of their appearance.
Secondly, the increase in appearance anxiety is also related to the socio-cultural environment. In some cultures, physical appearance is seen as an important measure of a person's worth, which makes people pay more attention to their appearance.
In addition, some media and advertisements also promote some unhealthy perceptions of appearance, which can also exacerbate people's appearance anxiety.
To alleviate appearance anxiety, we need to take a few steps. First of all, we need to realize that physical appearance is not the only measure of a person's worth, and we should pay more attention to the cultivation of inner qualities.
Secondly, we need to learn to take a correct view of the "perfect image" on social media, not to over-strive for perfection, but to accept our own imperfectionsIn addition, we also need to strengthen our awareness and understanding of appearance anxiety and learn to deal with this emotion correctly.
In conclusion, appearance anxiety in the age of social media is a pervasive problem, and there are steps we need to take to alleviate this emotion. Only in this way can we better enjoy life and realize our self-worth.
In this age of beauty filters, we seem to have become accustomed to seeing fake faces. Open Douyin, Kuaishou, and Xiaohongshu, and there are handsome men and women everywhere, their legs are amazingly long, and their faces are as delicate as knives.
These platforms are filled with retouched photos that make everyone look like an influencer, with flawless skin and an enviable figure. However, when we get used to this "false" beauty, the reality in reality becomes glaring.
Zhao Lusi's "filter accident" in "The Rumored Chen Qianqian" is a typical example. When the beauty suddenly disappears, revealing the true state of the skin, the audience's reaction is thought-provoking.
Originally, under the effect of the filter of domestic dramas, Zhao Lusi's skin was white and tender, very smooth, like a freshly peeled boiled egg. However, when the filter suddenly disappeared, the acne scars on her face were clearly visible, and the skin was no longer smooth and delicate.
In the face of such "truth", the audience's reaction was unexpected. Someone shouted: "I want to see the refinement, not the raw picture!" And when someone objectively said that this was just the skin state of ordinary people, they were retorted by "superior ordinary people": "No, right? I don't have so many acne, and ordinary people are much better than her.
What is more serious is that this distorted aesthetic not only exists in the adult world, but even the evaluation of children has become too harsh.
The attitude of netizens is quite contradictory, not only criticizing the stiff faces of female stars after plastic surgery, but also encouraging the underage second generation of stars to go for plastic surgery. This inconsistent aesthetic reflects the confusion of consciousness in society as a whole.
In today's environment, both celebrities and ordinary people seem to be stuck in a dilemma that cannot satisfy everyone. So, should we reflect on what is truly beautiful? Are we too narrow about what we mean by "beauty"? Perhaps, it is time to re-examine our aesthetic concepts and learn to appreciate the beauty of diversity, rather than being bound by a single standard.
Judgment in the Spotlight: Celebrity Criticism of Appearance
With the booming global performing arts industry, more and more people are being widely watched, including celebrities. However, in the spotlight, celebrities not only have to face public scrutiny, but also endure physical criticism from the media and the public.
Criticism of the appearance of celebrities
The appearance of celebrities is widely concerned, and their appearance is seen as one of the important factors in their professional success. However, this focus has also come with some negative consequences. Some celebrities have been criticized for their appearance, and have even been labeled as "ugly", "obese", etc.
The impact of physical criticism
Appearance criticism has a negative impact on the psychological and professional development of celebrities. Some celebrities feel inferior and anxious because of their appearance, which even affects their careers.
In addition, some celebrities are also discriminated against and ostracized because of their appearance.
The appearance of celebrities is widely concerned, but this attention also brings some negative effects. We should respect everyone's appearance and avoid judging others' appearance. At the same time, we should also pay attention to the inner qualities and talents of the stars, not just their appearance.
Judging from Zhao Lusi's case, it is a very common phenomenon for the public to have strict requirements for appearance. However, this harshness is not only aimed at the condition of the skin, but also the body as a "victim".
Ma Sichun's encounter in the hit drama "Jiang Zhao Dawn" can be used as a concrete example.
In "Jiang Zhao Dawn", Ma Sichun plays an ordinary middle-aged woman who works during the day and sets up a stall at night, with a busy life. Her performance showed a natural state, no heavy makeup, no flashy styling, her hair and dress casually, and she did not hide her body shape, showing the true side of her broad shoulders and thick back.
However, when we looked at the comments of netizens, we found that many people did not care about the plot or Ma Sichun's acting skills, but blindly accused her of being "fat".
This behavior is described in the article as being no different from "playing hooliganism".
What makes people even more heart-wrenching is that not only some strange netizens criticized her, but even people close to her complained about her. For example, Ma Sichun's ex-boyfriend Ou Hao has complained in public many times that she is "fat".
In an old interview, Ou Hao criticized her for being slightly chubby during the filming of "Left Ear" in front of Ma Sichun, and even used the wording "miserable" that was impolite and seriously hurt the feelings of others.
However, when we saw the photos at that time, Ma Sichun's face was clearly a small V face, which was thin and pointed, and it didn't look like he was fat at all. Even if it is a screenshot of the audition video, the collarbones on both sides of her can be seen under the high paste quality, which has nothing to do with what Ou Hao said about "being miserable".
This situation makes people sigh that in this era of thinness as beauty, women, especially female stars, seem to never be able to escape the curse of so-called "body anxiety".
Their weight changes can become the focus of public discussion, and this endless criticism and attention will undoubtedly bring them great psychological pressure.
Sometimes, there is indeed a reason why female celebrities love body anxiety, obviously they are already very thin, and they are publicly complained by their boyfriends, and no one can let go of them in this case. There is something even more worrisome, and this distorted aesthetic is seeping into the younger generation.
Childhood Shadow: The second generation of stars becomes a victim of appearance judgment
The second generation of stars often starts living in the spotlight at a very young age, and their parents are usually celebrities or public figures, which makes their lives full of stress and challenges.
However, they also often fall prey to the judgment of their appearance.
In the entertainment industry, appearance is one of the most important factors. The parents of the second generation of stars are usually celebrities, and their appearance will naturally receive more attention. However, this attention is not always positive.
Many second-generation stars will be criticized and questioned by the outside world when they grow up, and their appearance will be compared to their parents, and even criticized as "ugly" or "not up to standard".
This kind of criticism and questioning may have a negative impact on the mental health of the second generation of stars. They may feel inferior, anxious, or depressed, and may even affect their self-esteem and self-confidence.
In addition, the second generation may also face pressure from their peers, and they may be ridiculed or ostracized, which can have a negative impact on their social life.
Parents of the second generation should also be aware of the pressures and challenges their children may face. They should protect their child's privacy as much as possible and avoid exposing their child to the spotlight too early.
In addition, they should also teach their children how to look at their appearance correctly, so that children know that physical appearance is not the only measure of a person's worth.
In short, it is a common problem that the second generation of stars has become a victim of appearance judgment. We should pay attention to this issue and take steps to protect the mental health of these children.
Recently, the children of many celebrities have become the object of appearance judgment, which has triggered extensive discussion and reflection. For the young second generation of stars, this kind of judgment is undoubtedly too cruel.
In contrast, adult stars can also respond to physical criticism in some way.
On March 17, actor William Li suddenly published a long article announcing his temporary withdrawal from social networks, the reason was that the media maliciously commented on the photo of his 7-year-old daughter, and described an innocent little girl with "regret" and "ugly", which is really outrageous.
As a father who loves his daughter, 90% of his social dynamics are related to his daughter. He just wanted to share the joy of family life and record his daughter's growth, but he didn't expect that these daily photos would become a weapon of attack by others.
As we all know, most fathers only pay attention to the composition and ignore the management of expressions, so the photos of little girls are often very down-to-earth: the shooting angle is strange, the facial expressions are informal, and the beauty filter is not used to preserve the child's true appearance.
Looking at the smiling appearance of the daughter in the photo, and thinking of those vicious comments, any parent will be sad and angry. It is worth noting that the little girl is very good-looking, but because she is missing a front tooth during the critical period of tooth replacement, she looks "eye-catching".
Guo Tao's daughter also encountered this problem. Guo Tao posted a video of dancing with his 10-year-old daughter on social media platforms, and netizens focused not on the intimate interaction between the father and daughter, but on the little girl's appearance, some people thought she was "like a stone with a wig", and some people said that she "looked like the wrong person".
This 10-year-old girl is proud of her height, she looks only about half a head shorter than her father, and her long legs are extremely eye-catching.
Zhang Ting's daughter Lin Jialing was also ridiculed by netizens for "hitting Song Xiaobao in the face", and some people even questioned whether she was "holding the wrong one", and even suggested that she "grew up with a whole look".
In the face of malicious and false comments, the teenage Lin Jialing responded very angrily: "Don't comment on my appearance anymore, I don't rely on my face to eat!" The helplessness and anger in her words made people feel distressed.
It is gratifying that although Zhang Ting has controversies in other fields, she has always maintained a deep concern for her daughter's treatment and has spoken out for her daughter many times. It can be seen from her rhetoric that the mother and daughter were not influenced by the popular aesthetic.
Zhang Ting praised her daughter for having an "international style", and this kind of appreciation and affirmation is something we should learn.
These examples make one wonder: how can we be so critical of these naïve children? And why shoehorn adult aesthetic standards into them?
More importantly, what kind of shadow will this unwarranted criticism leave on the psychology of these children? Every child deserves a happy and carefree childhood, not being burdened with heavy "appearance anxiety" from an early age.
The aesthetic dilemma between ordinary people and celebrities
In this era, everyone generally judges people by their appearance, whether it is a celebrity or an ordinary person, it seems that it is unavoidable. However, what is even more confusing is that people may have double standards when it comes to celebrities and ordinary people, with stricter requirements for celebrities and more lenient for ordinary people.
On the one hand, the public's pursuit of appearance is almost beyond reality, and the slightest imperfection will be ridiculed or criticized. For example, Ma Sichun's performance in "Jiang Zhao Dawn", although his acting skills are in line with the role setting, he has been criticized for not being "beautiful" enough.
Netizens focused on her body shape and ignored her superb acting skills.
On the other hand, celebrities can be accused of being "fake" if they show their "overly perfect" side. Zhao Lusi's "filter accident" in "The Rumored Chen Qianqian" is such a typical example.
When her true skin condition was exposed, the audience, who originally disliked filters, began to miss the beauty function.
This ambivalence is also present in ordinary people. On the one hand, people envy the perfect appearance of celebrities, emphasizing that "no makeup is the real beauty"; On the other hand, when ordinary people really appear without makeup, they will be criticized for being "raunchy".
More worryingly, however, is that this distorted aesthetic is spreading to younger generations. For example, we saw netizens criticizing female celebrities for plastic surgery for looking "fake", and at the same time calling on the second generation of underage stars to have plastic surgery.
This attitude is self-contradictory and therefore reflects the aesthetic confusion of society as a whole.
On social media, photos of handsome guys and beauties tend to take up most of the screen, and in addition to having a devil's body, there are also looks that are considered "standard": the body must be skinny, the legs must be incredibly long, and the face must be as delicate as if it had been sculpted.
These standards are no longer limited to weight and figure, but even down to details such as eyes, nose, mouth, etc., such as "lychee eyes", "comic legs", "elf ears", "small upturned nose", ......, each part has an extremely accurate scale, as long as any part is slightly out of the standard, it is likely to be regarded as "not good-looking".
It is indeed difficult to judge from whom and when this "standard" ethos began. Most people may not agree with these "standards" from the beginning. However, it may be because of being surrounded by so-called "perfection" for a long time, everyone's attitude is gradually assimilated.
In the current social environment, both celebrities and ordinary people seem to be stuck in a dilemma where they can't please everyone. Therefore, people need to reflect: what is beauty? Are we too restrictive in our definition of "beauty"? Perhaps, we should re-examine our aesthetic concepts and learn to appreciate the beauty of diversity, rather than being bound by a single standard.
A call for respect for the beauty of diversity: reinventing aesthetics
For this deformed aesthetic, we need to reconsider: what is this real beauty?
We need to know that beauty is diverse, everyone has their own unique charm, and should not be bound by a single aesthetic standard. As Zhang Ting said, she feels that her daughter has an "international style", and this kind of appreciation and affirmation is what we should learn.
In today's society of aesthetic pluralism, the evaluation of a person's beauty should be multi-dimensional and comprehensive with multiple factors.
Second, we need to learn to appreciate true beauty. In this era when beauty and filters dominate everything, we need to cherish those true and natural beauty even more. In the drama "Jiang Zhao Dawn", isn't Ma Sichun's performance a rare reality? She broke the "stereotype" that the number one female in film and television dramas is the body of a devil, and she is more life-like and more like an ordinary person.
In addition, I think we need to stop making malicious comments about others, especially children. Every unintentional remark can cause harm to others, and if the subject of the evaluation is a child under the age of 10, the damage can be even deeper.
We should always remember that one of our jokes may become a psychological shadow for others.
It is also crucial that we rethink the way we look at youth and how we define it.
Finally, we should cultivate a healthy and diverse aesthetic, beauty is not only about the appearance but also about the inner temperament and charm, and we should learn to appreciate the uniqueness of each person, rather than judging others by inherent standards.
But people will have more or less shortcomings, even if they are stars in the spotlight, they are just ordinary people. No matter what other people's appearance is, they should not be judged maliciously.
Only by embracing the beauty of diversity and respecting the uniqueness of each individual can our society become a better place. Let's start now and look at the world with a more inclusive and appreciative lens.
In short, everyone should be cherished, and every beauty should be respected.