Does Instagram brainwash teen girls to strive to be flawless?

by Delaney McDaniel

Instagram is a form of social media that allows teens girls to share photos with their friends and “follow” their most admired role models and celebrities. Teens can “like” photos, interact with millions of other users, and even edit photos to make themselves look picture perfect. But do some Instagram accounts take perfection too far?

Accounts like @befitphotos and @skinnygirls promote photos of stick thin girls and describe them as “perfect” or “flawless.” These accounts were created with the intention of motivating girls to become more fit and healthy, but in turn, they have taken a turn and are brainwashing teen girls to strive to become flawless. Junior Jackie Spolidoro believes Instagram accounts that are promoting skinny bodies are going against their initial mission.

“These accounts are supposed to inspire girls to work out and get thin, but they don’t do it in the right way. They just make you feel insecure no matter what,” said Spolidoro.

Pictures of “perfect” girls are constantly advertised on the Instagram feeds of teen girls making girls feel like they need to look just like the models in the photos they view. Does society want all girls to be thin and tan with long hair and airbrushed makeup? The answer is no. It is impossible for all girls to look perfect in that way. Every girl has a unique appearance and body shapes vary but Instagram has displayed photos of flawless models and is therefore sending a message to teen girls that looking like a super model is how each and every girl should strive to look like. The reality is that being skinny is not necessarily the perfect appearance.

Junior Marissa Desimone confessed, “Personally, these accounts don’t make me feel good about myself. When I see these girls on my feed and I see how perfect their bodies are, I compare myself to them and it’s not very fun.”

To add to the distress of becoming flawless, the accounts featuring skinny girls have thousands of followers and receive thousands of likes on their photos. How does this make an average teen girl feel who has only a few hundred followers and receive less than thirty likes on their photos? Freshman Kenzie Dresner answers the question with an avid point.

“It’s almost like a popularity contest by how many likes you get,” answered Dresner. “If a girl does not have as many likes as another girl, she might not feel good enough and becomes pressured to look skinnier and prettier.”

The pressure of becoming skinnier and prettier can result in eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia. Anorexia is an eating disorder that causes girls to obsess about their weight and the food they eat. To maintain and lose weight, victims of anorexia completely cut off eating and excessively exercise. Bulimia is another eating disorder where the victim takes part in food bingeing and uses laxatives and forces themselves to vomit to prevent weight gain. Both disorders are also considered mental disorders in which victims view themselves as overweight but in reality they are sickly thin. Viewing photos of flawless girls can certainly mess with one’s mind, especially those that cannot physically have a stereotypical super model body. Spolidoro seems to agree.

“Girls could think that the only option they have to be fit and lose weight in order to look like that, is to stop eating. Eating disorders are mental and all in your head. So these types of images that are promoted can sort of brainwash you to think it’s required to be that perfect or else you’re ugly or fat,” explained Spolidoro.

Innocent posts of beautiful girls turn can into a dangerous message to teen girls struggling to become ideally “flawless.”

Desimone agrees with Spolidoro.

 “These accounts can push some girls to extremes. They constantly compare themselves to what is supposedly perfection and that can really screw with their minds and cause girls to harm their bodies out of desperation,” said Disimone.

Junior Miranda Duffany goes against the idea that Instagram accounts are brainwashing girls to strive to be flawless. Duffany claims the accounts only motivate her to become more fit and healthier.

Duffany says, “The pictures personally give me a goal, not to lose weight but to take better care of myself and the way I eat and how much I exercise.”

There are many ways to lose weight and become more fit, the healthy way, without putting one’s life in jeopardy. For instance, always eat a nutritious breakfast in the morning; it will speed up your metabolism for your day and will keep your stomach full until lunch time. You can also workout at least thirty minutes a day which includes walking around your neighborhood or taking a light jog around the pond (no need to hit the gym!).

Being skinny is not always the healthiest choice. It is more beneficial to be fit and healthy. Being fit is different for each and every individual and it is all based upon how one’s body is built. Not everyone can look like the models they see on Instagram, but they can be their own model.

Whether or not Instagram accounts posting photos of skinny girls is a motivation or a goal setter, there is no denying that these photos can make many teens girls feel insecure and ugly. Being flawless is not possible. Flaws make each person an individual, so embrace them and be confident in the way you look because they define who you are and make you unique!