The perks of living in the 21st century

Society’s deranged. There is no way to put it lightly, because it is. Between the mind numbing reality shows about partying, to the 80-pound model on every magazine we pick up. These crazy things have distorted our minds and have become our society’s norm. 90% of women are unhappy with their bodies, and 95% of teen girls think they’re fat. Is there not something wrong with that? For years and years our lives have been run by unrealistic role models and distorted images of beauty, all resulting in mental health issues. When did thin become so in?

And why is “perfect” the only beauty we see now? Musicians, Actors, Models, the celebrities, the people that us as individuals see everywhere, the people that are idolized similar to the way Christians worship God and Jesus Christ. We hail them, we praise them, and we envy them. Now what do most of them all have in common? Drop dead, gorgeous looks. They have it all, the money, fame, looks, love; the list is endless. What do we have? Hope. The hopes of one day becoming just like them. Have you ever seen an ugly singer or actor? No. There isn’t any.

Think of all the talented people out there that couldn’t make it big just because of one superficial fragment. “In Hollywood I’m obese. I’m considered a fat actress. ”(-Jennifer Lawrence) This quote displays how Hollywood is at the core of this disturbing phenomenon. How having a curvy body results in being called obese. “Models should be thin, clothes just look better on people who are thin, certainly photograph better. ” (-Calvin Klein) This quote is a representation of something that the fashion industry has harnessed for years, if you not thin, it’s simple; you’re not in.

What is true beauty? Because growing up in my generation I only have one idea of it. The girls that are splashed across the magazines and the slender actresses in all the box office hits, growing up I was taught that that’s what you had to look like to be beautiful. Being skinny and having perfect face structure is all you need; it will bring you love, attention, and most of all, happiness. Growing up in a narcissistic generation has fueled minds to hurt and feel pain when they don’t meet the qualification and standards of today’s version of beauty.

“Nothing tastes how skinny feels” (-Kate Moss) this quote is just overall sad, it represents how our society thinks, and overall how people today run their lives. Teen girls worship The Victoria Secret models; the exotic, tall, shockingly stunning women prance around in little to nothing every year for the annual Victoria Secret fashion show. Along with it comes the wave of Tweets of young girls pouring out there insecurities. “Why cant I look like the Victoria Secret models. ” “This fashion show is literally making me want to kill myself.”

“Can’t look at myself in the mirror ever again. ” (-Tweets) This forces girls to cave into the pressure that society hands out on a golden platter. “As every girl with weight issues knows, the foolproof method of self-protection is to beat the crap out of yourself before someone else has the chance. ” –(Los Angeles Times) Millions of people out there have issues with their appearance, young girls, young boys, grown men, grown women, the whole lot. The standards of beauty in our society are just too high for the majority of the population to reach.

In result we beat the shit of out our self in sheer anger and shame. Each year the number of mental health illnesses increase. From eating disorders, depression, anxiety, etc. Eating disorders have increased by 400% since 1970. “Women today feel much worse about their body images than women several decades ago. ”(-Los Angeles times) This quote is proof that this is a generational issue. We have distorted the true image of beauty and shoved in an unrealistic standard that no one can live up too.

This “image” that society has created is destroying us, bit by bit. People are dying everyday from illnesses that chemically irrupt in the brain, and the overwhelming and horrific pressure put on by the media and society causes it. 35,000 girls suffer from anorexia each day, 1 in 10 Americans are clinically depressed, and Teenagers are committing suicide almost on a daily basis. These numbers are shocking and continue to grow as the generation and world moves forward.

Each week the average person watches 31 hours of television, spends 10 hours online, and 4 hours looking through a magazine. This is the place where the media hits us hard. Where we are bombarded by the never-ending pursuits of perfection. Where beauty is taken to a whole new level and standard. “That’s sad. How plastic and artificial life has become. It’s getting harder and harder to find something real. Real love, real friends, real body parts…”(-Jess C. Scott) We’re the narcissistic generation, the generation that paints on beauty instead of finding in within.