Imagine scrolling through social media and seeing a girl in a bathing suit with ripped abs and having the body that you’ve always wanted. Or you see someone living the perfect life traveling, having the best friends, the best boyfriend and the greatest family life. You start to become insecure about yourself because you don’t have some of the aspects of their life. We are so used to seeing our friends’ edited lives online, even our own lives; we start to believe that those lives are perfect, amazing and full of talent, while ours are just not the same. If you feel like this, you’re not alone. A Huffington Post poll found that 60 percent of people using social media reported that it has impacted their self-esteem in a negative way. They also found that 51 percent say social media has made them feel more self-conscious about their appearance. 

I interviewed three students from Alliance High School and asked them if they felt if social media made them feel more self conscious about their physical appearance or if it impacted their self esteem in a negative way. 

Brianna Huston, freshman, responded “It definitely impacts me. I wouldn’t say only positive or negative. It’s a mix between both. It makes me self conscious seeing all those pretty girls with perfect bodies and perfect faces on there, but it also makes me feel so good when I post a pic on instagram and all my friends tell me I look good.” 

Maribel Carillo, freshman, said “I think it impacts my self esteem in a negative way sometimes because of the way society puts out unrealistic beauty standards and is less accepting of those who can’t meet those standards.” 

Finally, Emma Wood, sophomore, answered saying “yes. I feel like all the ‘famous’ or ‘trending’ people on social media are all super gorgeous and skinny and it makes it very easy for teenageres to compare themselves to those people. I also think that the way people promote weight loss solutions, like teas and food, will more people, especially girls, feel like they need to change themselves.” 

As a society I think we must normalize normal bodies. Eat better because we can. Workout, not for the intention to lose weight, but for the intention to celebrate our bodies because we can. Be the best we can be because, WE CAN. We should thank our bodies for allowing us to dance, walk our dogs, travel, move and exercise. 

Overthinking exercise and being sad because of the way we look is normal because of the times we are going through right now. There are people advertising weight loss and flat tummy exercises, or making it seem like we’re lazy because we don’t want to workout. Not wanting to workout, looking like a mess, having stretch marks, cellulite and even gaining a little weight does not make you less worthy or less beautiful. Don’t be ashamed! It’s okay to show up just as you are. It’s okay to take a chance on your body and trust when you’re hungry, you should eat. You are beautiful, worthy and deserve way more than you know.