How Social Media Changed The Perception Of Beauty
Let’s discover together how social media and social media trends shape our perception of beauty.
Introduction
The “That Girl” movement started on the popular short video platform TikTok. However, it is also on the rise on other platforms such as Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube. Find out in this blog post what the “Becoming That Girl” trend is all about. It also explains the purpose of this trend and what beauty is according to philosophers.
How To Be “That Girl”
If you’re anything like me, you love stunning glow-ups. Who could forget Sandra Bullock’s transformation in Miss Congeniality or Anne Hathaway’s drastic makeover in The Princess Diaries?
The ‘That Girl’ trend aims to bring back that magic, with the aim of significantly improving your life. The trend encourages self-confidence, positivity and a healthy lifestyle.
Physical Journey
So let’s cut right to the chase. How does one become “that girl”? There are a few steps one has to take along the way to achieve the desired outcome.
- Sleep
- Hydration
- Diet
- Exercise
- Hygiene
- Body Posture and Body Language
- Sense Of Fashion
- Hair-Care-Routine
- Skin-Care-Routine
The 4 Pillars Of Health
Sleep
“Sleep is the golden chain that ties health and our bodies together.” –Thomas Dekker
There is no doubt that sleep is essential. It contributes to our physical and mental well-being. Adults should get at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night.
PS: Don’t we all love the glow our skin has after a good night sleep?
Hydration
“I think drinking a lot of water helps. I try to drink, like, a couple bottles throughout the day.” – Hailey Bieber
You may personally either love or hate her, but there is one thing we all can not deny, Misses Bieber has GORGEOUS skin. It is recommended to drink at least 11 to 12 cups (2,7 litres) a day.
Diet
“Our food should be our medicine, and our medicine should be our food.” – Hippocrates
To be honest there are hundreds of theories and studies out there on “the perfect diet”. It is hard to find the right one without getting lost in all the chaos. The best thing you can do is to cut out ultra-processed food.
Exercise
“Exercise is the only equivalent of a fountain of youth that exists today, and it’s free to everyone.” – S. Jay Olshansky
Exercising should not be solely a tool for weight loss, but for staying healthy and fit for longer. It is recommended to move your body every day for at least 30 minutes. Find your exercise routine and go!
Personal Hygiene
Personal hygiene is essential for your overall health and well-being. Hygiene is not just important for beauty purposes. Nonetheless, it is crucial to boost your self-esteem and leave a good impression on people.
What you should focus on:
- Wash Your Hands (especially before touching your face)
- Oral Care: Floss and brush your teeth up to two times a day. Try to avoid fluoride toothpaste, discover why here.
- Bathing and Showering: Shower or take a bath regularly. Try to avoid soaps with harmful chemicals.
- Shaving and Moisturising: Don’t forget to moisturise after shaving.
- Deodorant and Antiperspirant: Use a deodorant when you feel the need to fresh up.
- Perfume: Choose your preferred scent and use some before stepping outside. But where should one use it? Or do as Coco-Chanel said and use it wherever you want to be kissed… 😘
- Skin Care: Develop your skincare routine. Don’t forget to change your pillow case and towels at least once a week.
- Hair Care: Wash your hair regularly (2-3 times a week). To give your hair an extra boost try to implement oils (coconut oil, castor oil, olive oil, rosemary oil, peppermint oil, jojoba oil…)
- Hand/Foot and Nail Care: Keep your fingernails and toenails clean, trimmed and give them an extra glow.
- Glasses and Contact Lenses: opt for stylish glasses or contact lenses.
- Clothing: declutter your wardrobe if needed and develop a sense of style
Posture and Body Language
Stand and sit up straight, not only to convey confidence but also for your overall appearance. Pay closer attention to your body language as it can influence the way people perceive you. How to get a better posture? For more information click here.
Pro Tipp: Smile to people as often as you can. Spoiler: Most people will smile back at you.
Sense of Fashion
Get inspired and develop a personal style that reflects you and makes you feel good. Invest in a wardrobe that suits your body shape and remember: in fashion, it is always quality over quantity you just have to know how to combine your favourite pieces.
Choose your colours wisely and enhance your outfit with delicate accessories.
Hair Care Routine
Wash your hair 2-3 times a week and develop a hair care routine. Tips on how to do that you find here.
Skin Care Routine
To establish a skin care routine you should find out what type of skin you have as there are so many different products out there that are developed to serve different purposes.
A skincare routine should include cleansing, toning, moisturising and protecting your skin from the sun. Find more advice on how to develop a skincare routine for beginners to build from scratch here.
Mental Journey
The ‘That Girl’ trend is also about improving your mental health. There are so many quotes posted by these influencers that you can live by. But the most useful advice in my eyes is this:
- Be realistic
- Spend mindful me-time
- Practice positive self-talk and affirmations
- Start journaling
- Get organised
The best tip I can give you is that when you begin your journey to mental health, do so with consistency. Consistency is the key when it comes to building good habits for the long term.
It’s pretty easy to stick to the “this girl” mental health advice for a few days or a week, but it’s hard to keep it up for months or years to come and to stay positive, organised and prioritise self-care. In this case, be realistic and don’t get overwhelmed.
Showing up, being the best version of yourself and glowing with confidence is a challenge that not many people can live up to.
The Perks Of Being “That Girl”
Simply put, the benefits of being ‘that girl’ are that you not only glow on the outside but more importantly also on the inside.
If you approach the world with a positive attitude, it will benefit you in every way. If you are more positive and open, people will automatically see you in a different light. What you send out into the world, you will get back.
You will also get to know yourself better. If you keep a journal and focus on spending time with yourself, perhaps away from social media, you will come to understand yourself and your body even better.
By focusing on the essentials and decluttering your life, you can be more organised and function well. Sometimes we get lost in consumerism. When you invest more in quality than quantity, you are doing yourself the biggest favour.
Most people struggle their whole lives to build their self-esteem and know who they are and what they want or don’t want. It’s perfectly okay to lose yourself and find yourself again and again. Nevertheless, it would be best if you tried to set long-term goals and know more or less where you want to end up. You are responsible for your own destiny.
Challenges Along The Way
As I have already mentioned, the biggest challenge is to maintain these habits over a longer period of time. Only consistency and discipline are a guarantee of successfully implementing new habits into your life.
One of the issues that not many people talk about is the pressure to be that girl and the need to compare yourself to other girls. The only person you should be comparing yourself to is yourself from yesterday. You will never know everything about another person, whether you know them in real life or see them on the internet. You only see their shiny exterior and what they want you to see.
Don’t let your favourite influencers tempt you into buying a bunch of things you don’t actually need. While it’s good to get inspiration and ideas from what other people are using and to know what has worked for them, they are not you. Everyone out there has different needs. We may all be human, but our bodies are unique. Focus more on what YOU both need and want.
Stop following the latest trends that pop up all over social media and focus more on what works for you.
You Are Unique
“The best colour in the world is the one that looks good on you.”
Coco Chanel
Related Articles you might like:
Social Media: 5 Reasons Why We Never Seem To Be Happy
Philosophical Thoughts On Beauty
Kant On Beauty and “The Sublime”
Beauty is a highly debated topic in philosophy. It is very difficult to define what beauty is. It seems to be both objective and subjective. The mystery of beauty has puzzled philosophers for centuries. One of the most famous philosophers of history who lived in the 18th century and who is one of the most influential philosophers of modern philosophy is Immanuel Kant.
Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher born in Königsberg (Kingdom of Prussia) in 1724. Kant was one of the central figures of the Enlightenment period. He is best known for his works in the fields of epistemology, metaphysics, ethics and aesthetics. His theses and publications have made him one of the controversial figures in modern Western philosophy.
Beauty
Kant thought about beauty as something that binds us humans together. Beauty is a democratic way that compels us to be better.
For Kant, beauty has a sense of form and dignity, it holds itself in the world. Beauty, in his view, can be experienced through great works of art, as the works of artists have their own story to tell and can even transcend the artist.
Beauty also has a relationship to truth (“Richtigkeit” = rightness), as well as to order, harmony and above all, morality.
For Kant, true beauty is a pleasure without interest. This means that beauty wants nothing from the object, that it has no hidden intentions and that it makes no demands.
In other words, beauty must be free. If there were any indications of hidden intentions or ulterior motives, Kant used terms such as “good” and “pleasant”. When something becomes purposeful or useful to us, it can no longer be called beauty.
The Sublime
Kant distinguishes between the beautiful and what he calls “the sublime“. The sublime is something that overwhelms us with emotion and triggers strong feelings just by looking at something (e.g. nature). We experience ourselves as being amazed and astounded. The sublime transcends our capacity for contemplation. Simply put, these are the “OHHH”, “AHA” or “WOW” moments in our lives. In these moments, we gaze upon something that seems to be beyond us, something that seems to be of a higher power.
For more detailed information check out this website or the video below:
Conclusion
Beauty is a concept that has many facets and stories. The perception of beauty is a constantly changing construct that evolves over time. Through social media, especially Instagram and TikTok, this evolution is faster and more radical than ever.
It’s true that social media can be daunting for many young women (as well as men) who want to participate in social media trends. But it’s also true that it can give many people a push in the right direction.
The “that girl” trend is a reminder that social media can also be a place of inspiration and support. The willingness to be the best version of ourselves is something that should be a goal for all of us.
Compare yourself to the person you were yesterday and strive to improve over time until you can look yourself in the mirror and seriously go like this:
Extra
Here is an extra thought impulse on how our brain decides what is beautiful.
Leave a comment down below ⬇️ and let me know your thoughts … 💭