I've never been that comfortable taking selfies. I grew up when cameras still had film and there was no way to delete bad photos or alter them with skin-smoothing, acne-erasing, body-slimming tools. Selfies didn't exist. Today, I can look back at photos that were taken of me in my teenage years and laugh at my awkwardness, but at the time I wasn't laughing. I was bullied and teased by the popular girls at my school, and although I had close friends that helped get me through it, it still hurt and created insecurities that are still with me today.
I eventually grew out of my awkward phase and became fairly comfortable with the way I look, but I would still shy away from selfies because I was afraid to put myself out there for fear that someone would point out my flaws. Not to mention that when social media first came out, it was...social. I posted photos of me and my friends having a good time at a party or goofing around with my siblings on family vacations. It was a way to share my life with others and I really didn't scrutinize how I looked all that much.
But in recent years, more and more of my friends have been posting selfies on their pages and they look a little too perfect...like airbrushed models in a magazine. The more I looked at them, the more I felt that old insecurity rise up in me and I have felt the need to compete. I wanted to post "perfect" selfies to show up the girls that had taunted me in high school. For me it seemed like vindication...and a way to create a more beautiful online persona that I could proudly show off to the world. As I was editing a photo one night, my husband reminded me that I have a very rich life full of people who love and care about me. He wanted to know why I would waste my time and energy trying to compete with other women when I have so much going on that has nothing to do with looks...important things like my family, and friends. He was so right.
The selfie culture has really affected the world, and not in a good way. Just take a look at some of these scary statistics:
For these reasons, I'm very proud to share Soffe activewear's #TheUsProject which aims to bring young women together in support of their goals. Rather than competing with our friends, we need to build each other up and stand behind one another. Instead of focusing on how we look, let's focus on those people in our life who give us strength, motivation, and encouragement.
#TheUsProject is using social media to create a more beautiful picture and I hope everyone who reads this will join me in support of this amazing movement. To spread the word (and be entered for a chance to win some awesome #TheUsProject gear from Soffe), here's what to do:
Post a photo of you and your friends (no selfies!) to Instagram and tag #TheUsProject and @budgetbeautyblog. Here are a few examples of what you can win:
Here's #TheUsProject photo I'll be posting. These gals are my besties and they have been there for me most of my life. They never judge me and have seen me through my best and worst times:
For more information on #TheUsProject, please check out this short video and visit #TheUsProject movement:
LOVE this! I agree totally with what you said and those statistics! We really are isolating ourselves.
ReplyDeleteThis is fantastic! Where can I get one of these tees? Are they available online? I'm assuming I probably won't win, but would love to buy one. This message is a very powerful one and like you, I was tormented in high school and still carry self-esteem issues. Selfie culture just further perpetuates the idea that it's all about looks, carrying that "high school" mentality into our adult lives. I had to de-friend some people on Facebook because all they did was post selfies. I know they were probably altered to make them look amazing but it made me feel like these girls from high school are aging so much better than I am and I started to feel depressed. Then I started to wonder why I cared about what these girls thought? I was right back in teenage mode! So I don't look at them anymore and focus on my real friendships- I'm much happier as a result. Thank you for posting this and standing behind such an important issue!
ReplyDeleteI love the message of this! We are our own worst critics when it comes to ourselves. I definitely spent the first couple of years out of high school changing myself to fit others ideas of perfect (tanning, bleaching my hair, unhealthy eating) so that if I ever saw any of those girls I could show that I had grown out of my 'awkward stage' The last two years I've really noticed that I started to prefer how I looked without all of that and I'm not going to spend my time worrying about people who I still have not seen! By the way, you are beautiful and seem like a really wonderful, caring, beautiful person on the inside as well.
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