Role of Beauty in Modern World

We live in a world where a lot of our interactions are made on virtual platforms, mainly social media and television. A lot of the things we see, hear and witness are not physical experiences or interactions. According to a report by CNN, last year, the average teen in a developed nation spends approximately nine hours a day on social media. This is more time than they spend sleeping and eating. Considering the fact that 48% of the population in the developed world consists of teens and adolescents, we can clearly see that a majority of people who are going to be future leaders are spending a lot of time in the virtual world. Spending a lot of time online, doesn’t necessarily have to be a problem. Where the problem does lie, however, is that everything we see virtually, doesn’t necessarily have to exist in reality. Unfortunately, the young population lack the understanding to realize this.

So today I am going to talk about how people’s obsession with make-up and plastic surgery for cosmetic reasons is rising to a level that exceeds good sense.

The reason why I started talking about social media and virtual platforms is because I feel that this is the main platform through which we follow celebrities, movie stars and other public figures. And as a matter of fact, it happens to be these public figures that we idolize as for their “perfect looks”. We see “too good to be true” images of celebrities almost every day, through some medium or the other. It is human tendency to want to be the best version of yourself in every aspect possible and in this case, we tend to want to look perfect and absolutely flawless. We all want an aesthetic and attractive look and there is nothing wrong about that. In fact, some of us are genetically blessed with the best jawlines and admirable body figures, so we don’t even need to bother much about looks. For those who aren’t born with the most heroic looks; well, it’s not impossible to look good. Just thirty minutes of accelerated heart rate a day can help you stay in good shape and feel mentally refreshed, besides giving you good skin and solving posture problems. So, yes it is possible to stay in good shape and have amazing skin naturally! The very word make-up is defined as something used to “enhance or alter appearance”. But if you don’t even need any enhancements or alterations.Unfortunately, in today’s fast paced world, centered on making money and nine-to-five jobs, people don’t have time for a little exercise and this is where the problem arises!

With scientific and medical technology on a rise, it is possible to completely alter one’s looks only and only through cosmetic procedures. Just imagine being able to sport amazing facial looks and a lean physique without any effort at all- sounds too good to be true right? Like they say, everything has it pros and cons. Although cosmetics is commonly associated with women, the number of men using such products are constantly on the rise. In the year 2012 alone, around 1 million cosmetic procedures were carried out on men only- and approximate 106% increase since the year 1997.

Cosmetic surgery is one of those things that doesn’t guarantee you a hundred percent success rate. It comes with a certain amount of medical risk as well as a chance of failure. Infection, severe bleeding and nerve damage are one of the many possible consequences of an unsuccessful plastic surgery; the most severe being death. As far as looks are concerned, many a times people find that the results aren’t as flawless as they expected.

Another fact about cosmetic procedures is that they are really pricy. Let’s face it. A successful plastic surgery is something that only the richest among us can afford. It takes a highly experienced doctor and sophisticated equipment to carry out a successful surgery; both of which come at a decent cost. Cheaper alternatives usually do not guarantee a safe surgery and may lead to other implications. One of the priciest cosmetic surgeries, a lower-body lift, comes at a mind boggling price of $8,000.

Like most other shortcuts, plastic surgery can become an addiction. Once you experience how easy it is to alter your looks by a few surgeries, you are overcome by the greed to alter every single flaw in your body. Although you may look good temporarily, in the long run people have been known to suffer terribly. Apart from plastic surgery, hair transplants and synthol injections are a few of the other abused cosmetic procedures.

Not everyone who wants to look good is willing to go under the knife. This is where cosmetic procedures, AKA ‘makeup’ comes in. Just a layer of foundation cream and a little blush can instantly cover up any facial scars or bad skin tone. Again, this might sound too good to be true; but it is not without any shortcomings. One of the main problem of make-up is that they are packed with dozens of chemicals, that lead to the formation of negative radicals in the body and this severely damages the body’s immune system in the long run. Another fact is that the harsh chemicals in make-up can actually deprive the skin of moisture and hamper essential natural glandular secretions. In fact, many people who use cosmetic products for prolonged periods of time, end up having to rely on even stronger products and procedures to satisfy their greed for flawless looks.

Another observation that I personally made was that as a result of this “looks obsessed” community of people, other similar communities end up getting a bad name. For instance, people often associate the fitness community with good looks, without understanding that for most gym goers it is their athletic performance that matters most to them, not their lean physique. There are so many athletes and players who train regularly and I do not think they do it for their looks. I myself am passionate about lifting weights; am I obsessed with my looks? No. I don’t think any of the top Olympic athletes are over conscious about their looks. So it can be said without doubt that it is just a small community of people who have body image disorders, that spend hours applying make-up and spend thousands for risky cosmetic procedures, just because they are afraid to be their natural self.

As a conclusion I would like to end with a quote: “An ugly personality destroys a pretty face.” It is time we start focusing on improving our personality and become a more charismatic version of ourselves rather than just a “prettier” version.