" Beauty is power; a smile is its sword" - John Ray

This week in class, we discussed beauty and how media has condensed the overall definition of it. We claimed that media is to blame for this issue as it continues to idolize beauty through the most unlikely sources we tend to overlook- such as toys! Media is toying with the meaning of true beauty- see what I did there? We compared a modern day barbie doll to a 70's doll and noted that the modern doll reflects how a "beautiful" woman should look in the eyes of society. By creating such a toy doll, the false definition of beauty is unconsciously encrypted into an individual's mind from a very young age. 

With the amount of blame media gets from the crowd, I always wondered whether they  actually ever even said something which was infact a 100% true. After doing some research, I came to the conclusion that yes they have. Media- or more specifically SOCIAL media has successfully made the definition of beauty diverse. Social media can be seen as the ground where individuals from different backgrounds and perspectives converge. 

 From what I've seen, the most effective way to boost or lower someone's self esteem is through the comments from others.  I think we all can agree that when we upload a picture and receive complements, we feel pretty darn good. This leads you to take more pictures, which overall leads to a more confident smile. It is a known fact that people's opinions can seriously affect the way we judge certain things, why not use this piece of information in a more positive aspect?

Dove conducted a survey and found that after social media gained its popularity, there was an approximately 70% increase in the total number of people of who are now content with the way they look. 

                                     

"It [social media] impacts beauty because there is an opportunity to redefine it."- Jess Weiner