PEDESTRIAN.TV has teamed up with QV Ceramides to simplify your skincare routine.
If you were born in the 2000s like me, you would have truly grown up in the dawn of social media. Our brains were just developing as influencers pushed impossible beauty standards onto us. No, really. Six out of ten Aussies found that diet and fitness content on social media impacted their body image. So, you can imagine how well that went for us Gen Z’s without parental supervision.
14 years since Instagram let us upload a pic of our lunch, a plan to ban underage social media usage has only just been announced.
It just feels almost too late for us. Too late for tweenage Emily — who did anything to look like the influencers online.
Here are five things I wish I could’ve told my younger self when navigating the online world.
1. Your body is perfectly normal
Let me take you back to 2014 when Kim K’s butt broke the internet. I was in year eight at the time, and all of a sudden, we were tilting one knee to accentuate our figure. (Proof below.)
It’s the UGG boots in the snow for me. Credit: Emily Sturgess, Paper magazine.
Don’t get me wrong. Impossible body standards have been forced on women from the dawn of time. There was one difference when we were growing up — it was impossible to escape online.
Everywhere we looked, there were videos and posts on how to get an hourglass figure in sEvEn dAyS. You had to have curves in all the right places, yet stay ‘skinny’.
It’s no surprise that the Butterfly foundation found more than 90 per cent of young people in Australia have some concern about their body image. We’re bombarded with Westerns, ever-fleeting standards of beauty that impact every one of us.
Of course, now I know how the influencers achieved that impossible feat (with image editing and plastic surgery), but 11-year-old Emily staring at her arms in an innocent netball photo did not.
2. You don’t need influencer skincare products
I remember begging my parents for the latest YouTuber skincare range because that’s what all my friends were talking about. I shudder to think about what I put on my face and body back then, and it’s no wonder I had skin flare-ups.
After the flare-up, I’d go straight to makeup influencers, like James Charles and Tati Westbrook, to work out how cover to it up with a pound of makeup. The cakier and more orange looking the better — no pimple patches in sight.
We’ve come a long way since then. Now we know that our skin (especially young skin) needs simple formulas, not a 20-step routine.
Dermatologically tested products like the QV Ceramides range can help to create a hydrated and glowing complexion, thanks to its triple ceramide formulation.
The two-step routine starts off with the QV Ceramides Cleanser to help support the skin barrier and ends with the QV Ceramides Cream or QV Ceramides Lotion, which helps keep the skin hydrated for up to 24 hours. Even better? It won’t make a huge dent in your future self’s bank account.
3. You don’t need a boyfriend/girlfriend/you get the picture
Influencer couples were all the rage in the 2000s. Remember when YouTuber Zoella and Alfie Deyes got together? (Sidenote, they now have two kids together: Ottilie Rue Deyes and Novie Nell Deyes — naw.)
@zoeandalfie_fan Time flies by so fast! #zoella #zoesugg #alfiedeyes #foryoupage #fyp #viral ♬ original sound – zoeandalfie_fan
My friends at school started getting boyfriends suddenly, and I remember panicking that I didn’t have one to put in my Facebook bio yet.
So, what did I do? Fall down the rabbit hole of videos titled ‘Why Boys Don’t Like You’, ‘How To Look Pretty For Boys’ and ‘How To Get A Boyfriend’.
These videos look eerily similar to TikTok’s, ‘How To Tap Into Your Feminine Energy’, ‘Why You’re Still Single’ and ‘X Things Men Hate’.
@karlaeliaa Femininity comes in all shapes and sizes ! #women #advice ♬ original sound – Karla Elia
4. Social media likes don’t define you
Let’s be honest. I think we all looked at how many likes our posts got back in the day. Especially when we compared how many likes our classmates got, measuring popularity just like the influencers did.
I remember deleting my Instagram post in year seven because it didn’t get enough likes when it was literally just a cute photo of my dog Panda. (Yes, he was black and white.)
It reminds me of that Black Mirror episode, Nosedive, where social media ratings define whether you live a good or bad life — scary.
Now that I’m old enough to understand social media isn’t life or death, the amount of likes I do (or do not) get doesn’t bother me anymore — nor do I take down a good photo.
@haydenwatchingthings black mirror – nosedive, s3 ep1 #fyp #foryou #viral #blackmirror #nosedive #blackmirrornosedive ♬ original sound – hayden 🍿
5. Friends come and go, and that’s okay
Raise your hand if you’ve been the victim of a third wheel, because me too. There was nothing worse than seeing your two best friends post without you. Where was your invite?
I was so desperate to hang onto my friends that I was okay to be left out. I think my lowest point was when I literally bribed my way into a sleepover — yikes. Who was going to like and comment on your posts without your so-called friends? That would be weird.
I’m happy to report that I’ve cut ties with them and surrounded myself with positive people now — something little me learned a little too late.
@coreselfpodcast We've all had that one friend who is just a little bit toxic. Maybe they try to control what you do? Or they're always calling to vent but never ask about you? Or, like in Chloe's case, they expect you to pay their rent?! A good or bad friendship can shape your life, and that's why we're talking all things friendship on this week's episode of #CoreSelf podcast. Don't miss it! #friendships #coreselfpodcast #monavand #chloeflower #friendshipadvice #toxicfriendships #lifeadvice #energyhealing ##toxicfriendship##protectenergy ♬ Beat Automotivo Tan Tan Tan Viral – WZ Beat
Influencer culture has only ramped up since we were tweens — but I find it helpful to remember that social media only shows the good stuff. It’s honestly just a highlight reel, you never know what’s going on behind the scenes.
I can’t imagine what it must be like for younger generations (like Gen Alpha) who’ve grown up with social media since day dot. I know I’m going to sound like a boomer, but at least we Gen Zers had time to run around outside and just be kids.
I hope you hug your inner child today. I know I will.
The post 5 Things I Wish I Could Tell My Younger Self Before I Discovered Social Media’s Impossible Standards appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
