Being a teenager is hard enough, with having to maintain grades and have a good social life. For high schoolers, there is a lot of pressure in everyday life, and with the rise of Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and Facebook, teens have more reasons to feel stressed and insecure. 

There are thousands of social media influencers who encourage those to workout, have abs and go on diets. These “eat nothing and go to the gym” lifestyles are not realistic for anyone, especially teens. 

Roswell High School guidance counselor, Lauren Butler, explains how social media and celebrities affect body image.

 “I think it is natural to look at social media, or look at celebrities, and see how they look really awesome,” said Ms. Butler, “People then compare themselves, just naturally and sometimes subconsciously to that person, and it is bad for your self image.”

She also reveals that, although social media can affect body image, it’s not entirely bad.

 “I don’t think social media itself is bad, but it does have somewhat of a negative impact on your self image,” stated Ms. Butler.

Ms. Butler shares that people who talk down on themselves need to “find the good” and be more positive. “I think what people post is the best of themselves, and when you are looking at the best of someone, you don’t see any flaws,” said Butler. The high school counselor then explains that some of these photos are not real, and especially not realistic. 

When teens jump onto Instagram, for example, they tend to see super thin figures, and automatically start comparing themselves. Ms. Butler describes how she too “goes down that hole of negative self talk” after going on social media.

“We need to appreciate our differences, we can’t look exactly the same,” explained the counselor. People need to be told they look beautiful, and they should “celebrate their differences”. Ms. Butler believes that people, especially women, need to follow more positive body image people.

Positive body image people share how they feel on good and bad days. These influencers can help those who aren’t feeling their best on a given day. 

Complimenting others and bettering their mood about themselves helps mentally for teens. Ms. Butler describes that the more positive self talk, the better one will feel. “Finding the things you love about yourself is super important.” “Telling yourself, ‘I look beautiful in whatever skin I’m in’ is key,” the counselor shares. 

“Our flaws are what make us beautiful,” stated Ms. Butler. 

Everyone should learn to love their body and recognize that they are enough.

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