The struggle for originality this year has swelled alarmingly. Social media has put an idea in young people’s heads, especially teenagers, that they have to look like this, and that they are not ‘perfect’. Internet platforms like Snapchat, Instagram and Tik-Tok are raising this issue alarmingly fast, but yet it remains untouched. The restricted age is thirteen, although regularly you can see young children using it along with the above-age-limit users. This is probably to ‘fit in’ and ‘look cool’. Not very long ago, everyone was different and looked like themselves, not like everyone this year. In 2019, everyone looks the same, to be ‘on trend’ and ‘relevant.’ It’s not just online either. If you look closely as clothing shops, you can see a small chain starting. It’s all the same: cropped shirts; tight pants; heeled shoes and so on. The issue is more affective to women, especially as they stereotypically have more clothing choice. Male clothing hasn’t changed much over the decades, but you can also see the similarity in the clothing and hair. The human race has developed an image for the word ‘pretty’, and you are not normally considered good-looking if you do not look a certain away. Some people are making a stab at this infective wound by wearing ‘off-trend’ clothing, for example baggy clothes and long tops. The image changes as you grow, turning from revealing to hiding, tight to baggy, short to long, and so many more.
It’s not just in appearances, but television too. Instead of bringing out new ideas, companies are just creating remakes. Like Disney remakes. Instead of creating new characters and stories, we’re just receiving live-action versions or modern remakes, or perhaps continuing a series for too long.
Maybe it’s nothing and is a harmless change in society, but there’s always the possibility it could be poisoning our self-asteem and confidence.
S.Murphy ★