“Beyond Perfect” is the fourteenth of fifteen teen articles received in spring 2024 from Piute High School students. Three of them were published in The Byway‘s most recent May paper. The rest will be featured online.
Nobody is beyond perfect in this world. In fact nobody is even perfect. One viable solution to reduce negative body image made by others or oneself is to focus on how differently all age groups get physical activity. It is important that teens not worry about someone else’s body image or shame them for something they might be trying to focus on right now. Positive and negative talk, social media, and self-perceptions are all things that our society has to deal with under the concept of body image.
It may not feel like someone is shaming them for their body, but most of the time people do this without knowing it. There are many more topics that fall under body image in people today. Body image is how someone feels, looks, and thinks about their own body/self image or others. In the article “Body Image and Self-Esteem (for Teens),” Beth C. Long said, “Don’t compare yourself with other people. The saying goes ‘Comparison is the thief of joy.’ Find things to like about your own body and be thankful for all the great things it can do.”
Body image is an issue for not only teens but for adults and young children as well. Lots of emotion comes with body image. Not only will negative talk hurt them, but it can affect those around them as well.
The Peace Pilgrim meme explains that, “If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought.” If a person is constantly thinking about how they can be different, such as being skinnier, prettier, or more athletic, it becomes a habit to think about themselves that way. No matter the improvement a person makes, it is never enough in their mind.
On the other hand, if a person thinks positive things about themselves such as: “I like my smile,” “I’m fit,” “I have pretty hair,” then it becomes a habit to think positively about themselves. Positive talk can make a person realize that they are enough, whether it is said about themselves or others.
Teens are their own worst critics. They often think or say things about themselves that they would never think or say about another person. For example, teens think they are overweight, out of shape, and ugly, while they think our friend who is the same size as us is skinny, fit, and beautiful. Young adults need to start treating themselves with the same kindness that they treat others with.
Social media is a huge part of why people are insecure or are being body shamed for their image. Social media is harmful in many ways. What people don’t understand is that everyone puts their “perfect lives”’ on social media. Since we live in a world today that is full of social media, we are constantly scrolling and seeing all these examples of people with the ideal life.
It is human nature to want the perfect life, perfect body, and perfect post that other people have. When adolescents feel that they fall short, and think they can never be as perfect as the people we glamorize on social media. It can cause us to shame our own bodies and lives. This causes negative thoughts, negative body image and to end it with self hate.
There is another side of social media where things can be good. Society doesn’t always have to look on the bad side and find negative thoughts and have negative emotions about people’s bodies and others around them. There are so many good social media outlets with fitness tips, healthy recipes, and workout routines. These are meant to help people improve their lives; however, they need to have the dedication and motivation to follow that.
Self-perception is the way teens view and think about themselves, not only physically, but mentally and socially as well. There are lots of factors that go into self-perception. How we were raised, the environment we live in, and what is said around us are all factors that play into our self-perception. If a child is raised in a bad environment where they are constantly being criticized, then they will most likely have a bad self-perception. If a child is constantly being told they are ugly, fat, and dumb, then that is how they are going to view themselves even up to the adult stage.
It is very hard to break through cycles when that’s all an adolescent hears their entire lives. No matter how fit, healthy, and athletic they are, they will probably think the opposite of that. In the article “Self-Perception: Definition, Theory, & Questions,” Charlie Huntington and Tchiki Davis said, “How I see myself is a constantly evolving aspect of who I am. In other words, my self-perception is always changing – it is subject to the whims of how I feel on a given day, what is going on around me, and the last thing somebody said to me.”
It is said that in order for an action to become a habit, it only takes seven times in a row of doing something. If for one week a person could tell him- or herself that he or she likes them, perhaps people’s self perception would begin leaning towards the positive. This would help people individually to love themselves again and the world would be a much better place.
– by Riyo Winckel (10th) Marysvale
Feature image courtesy of Abbie Call, The Byway.
Read more from Piute teens in Depression by Taesi Morgan.