You’ve heard it before, “Body Positive.”
It’s not easy to be Body Positive in 2020 due to the presence of Social Media. You’ve seen it before; your friend takes a picture of themselves in a bathing suit or a model you follow posts a picture of themselves on Instagram. It’s nearly impossible to avoid it. We’re consistently bombarded with images that present the idea that it’s the ideal body type or the ideal lifestyle that you should strive for.
Millennials, in particular, are growing up with Social Media and are therefore prone to losing themselves to the frenzy of body comparisons and negativity. Television and Films show you a fake image of how you are supposed to be seen. Somehow, somewhere it became normal to put ones self-down because otherwise you are seen as Egotistical, Arrogant, or Full of Yourself.
We come in all shapes and sizes and it’s important to realize that, that is what makes you unique.
The issues are that of Self-image, which dominates Millennials’ thinking.
There is always something better, or something we are supposed to be striving for or trying to emulate. The statistics on how the issue of body image is impacting Millennials are astounding and incredibly tragic. According to High-Performance Consultancy, “Millennials could be guilty of prioritizing their appearance over work as a study has found that two-thirds of the age group would exchange a 20% pay cut for the perfect body. Young women are seven times more likely to worry about their figure than their career, and 17% of millennials have received comments about their weight from a colleague.”
Millennials are so incredibly focused on body image that they are prioritizing it over their careers and education. Sad as. it sounds like that’s the world that we live in.
So, what can we do?
Well, what is happening is that we are losing sight of what really makes someone successful and beautiful. We are focusing only on the very surface level and neglecting to highlight all of the many other aspects that make a person beautiful.
Furthermore, we need to learn to love ourselves again. Parents need to watch for the warning signs of eating disorders, Lack of sleep, not eating, anorexia, bulimia, and overeating, as well. These are things that need to be addressed. Have a conversation with them about social media and how they feel about themselves, but it’s a delicate process. The most effective thing we can do to return to a place of self-love and confidence is to turn inward and remind ourselves of our strengths and the things we do love about ourselves.
Once we can do this, we can bring these strengths into the world, and with that comes confidence and overall a sense of pride in who we are.
If you or someone you know has an eating disorder, please contact us.
We are here to help and have trained professionals ready to talk to you.