False Reality
If you compare the standards of beauty today to the standards of beauty from 30 years ago, there is an insane change. These days, we have plastic surgery, photoshop, filters and so many more ways for us to manipulate how we look. The people who indulge in those things the most are those that many people look up to, celebrities. Celebrities are who we see on the television, those who make the music we listen to, and those who we all envy, but we don’t see the behind the scenes of how they got to look the way they do today. These celebrities appear to have the perfect life and body, which can make all of us who watch their lives jealous and feel a little bad about ourselves. Celebrities make an impact on our lives, whether good or bad.
Although we can be jealous and envious of celebrities, they can have positive impacts on us. Some celebrities got to where they are today by encouraging others and promoting positive things. When I asked a fellow student, Travis Washington, how celebrities affect him personally, he responded “I want what these celebrities have, and that makes me want to work harder to make a lot of money so I can afford what they have.” This is a positive effect of envy; he wants to work hard to have what these celebrities have one day. Celebrities can also have the power to put thoughts into their fan’s heads and preach positivity to their following. One celebrity that I would recognize as a positive role model who does preach positivity is a Tik-Tok star named Sienna Mae Gomez. She is a 17-year-old girl who makes Tik Tok videos promoting self-love and showing her real body without posing to show that she isn’t perfect. Her videos are really important for young girls to be able to see her for who she actually is so they know it is normal to not look how models look; it is normal to have stretch marks, rolls, and cellulite. She wants young girls to grow up and not only see beauty in being “skinny” or “perfect”. Sienna is a great example of how celebrities can be good role models and positive people for children to look up to.
Thankfully, there are great celebrities who are trying to better society and be good role models for our youth; there are also negative impacts on society from us watching these celebrities. Studies have shown that celebrities have a large impact on how teenagers view their bodies and there was a test that showed 80 percent of the girls surveyed have compared themselves to models, and half of those girls said that they felt dissatisfied with themselves after comparing themselves to models. A senior at Pennridge High School, Teagan Shelly, was asked “Do celebrities influence your life negatively? If so, how?” and her response to this question was, “Celebrities give a false sense of reality and they have unrealistic lives that just makes everybody feel bad as they can’t achieve these lives and it can really hurt your self-esteem.” This is a great example of how celebrities can impact your life negatively as young girls see their bodies that have had plastic surgery and so much reconstructive surgery and they see that as beautiful. They see these icons as the face of beauty and when they look in the mirror and don’t see big, fake lips and perky breasts with a tiny, reconstructed waist, it can be very discouraging.
Depending on the person you ask, they may love certain celebrities, and some may hate that same person for their own personal reasons. Some girls may admire how thin and flawless Kylie Jenner is, and another girl may see her Instagram and feel ashamed that she doesn’t look the same way she does. Whether you recognize it or not, celebrities have a large influence on our youth, our society, and the way that people view beauty. People see celebrities and they can feel inspired to be as successful as them, or they can feel defeat and want to live up to this unrealistic expectation that celebrities portray. It would be very helpful to their audiences if these celebrities could put out a realistic, actual display of the behind the scenes that we don’t get to see. They could show them without makeup, before plastic surgery, and all the things that would show their audience that they are just humans, and they aren’t better than us. People need to be told that they are displaying the best, and most perfect parts of their lives on social media, and that would be really positive for younger people to recognize that we are all just human.
Taryn Reigle, Grade 12. Interests include cheerleading and art. Taryn plans to become a guidance counselor.