What Does It Mean To Be Perfect

What does it mean to be perfect? The pressure to achieve perfection overwhelms an extreme amount of teenagers today. Although this pressure can develop from various things, the most common source is pop culture and the media. Photoshop has become increasingly prominent in many of the advertisements teenagers are likely to see. The excessive amount of photoshop used by the media should absolutely not be legal under any circumstances. It sets an extremely high expectation of what it takes to look or feel beautiful, and it can leave many young people with the hopeless and tiresome feeling of never being "good enough." It will lead many teenagers to feel insecure, and try to reach society's level of "beautiful."

Looking at advertisements today,

It is everywhere, on television, magazines, billboards and many more, making it impossible to escape or ignore its influence on us. Children and teenagers growing up with this mindset are bound to form many irrational insecurities about themselves. They may never be able to feel fully confident and comfortable in their own skin, which is something no one should have to experience. Insecurities are a completely natural part of life, but ever since media has set the unrealistic requirement of being flawless in order to be beautiful, these tiny flaws are magnified. Eventually, these insecurities will grow much larger and eat away at someone's mind causing them many problems. Teenage years are already difficult enough as it is without the constant pressure to feel good enough and to live up to the standards the media has set for them. Photoshopping images may seem completely harmless, but in all actuality it can have numerous negative and long-term effects on how children view themselves. They will involuntarily compare their image to the models shown in the advertisements, and be forced to realize all of their flaws. In some of their minds, they will think they need to be the same weight as the models, or have the same facial features. Some teenagers will go to extreme lengths to make themselves looks like the people they see in advertisements. Many teenagers suffer from the eating disorders

But there seems to be a lack of these types of people in the media. It is absolutely essential for adolescents to go through life being completely comfortable with expressing their individuality. This can sometimes be rather difficult, especially with the people they are looking up too. Society's main focus is looking a certain way, and if someone does not fit that "look" they could possibly feel extremely insecure with themselves. No one should ever feel like they are not good enough or beautiful because of the image society has produced. People in advertisements have more than likely been photoshopped in one way or another. In no way is this being a valuable role model to young people. They are basically teaching teenagers that any flaw should be covered up, and is something to be ashamed of. They are making it seem that if you have flaws, or do not fit the size two, perfect skin description, then you are not beautiful. This is extremely wrong and can have many negative impacts to their mental health, most likely leading to many insecurities. An ideal role model to teenagers would be someone not ashamed of their flaws, and confident even without photoshop. This mindset would eventually transcend onto young people, and the realization that they are already beautiful and unique just being themselves would set in. Also, the pressure to always fit a certain image would fade away,