"We live in a culture obsessed with appearances, facades, the "right" look, six-pack abs... a highly curated persona to be beamed out on social media from cool cafes, restaurants, beaches, hotels, and other destination locations. Nowhere is this more apparent than in sunny and superficial California. From billboards to Instagram, the pressure to be beautiful and project that you're "living your best life" is oppressive."
"Human beings living in my slice of planet Earth spend an extraordinary amount of time and energy - physical, mental, emotional, and financial - nay, even spiritual energy - attempting to look good to others. (And I won't even mention people trying to look good through virtue signaling here.) Billions of dollars are annually invested in beauty, fitness, and self-improvement industries. We sculpt, inject, filter, and posture - all in the hope of gaining acceptance and admiration."
An intense cultural focus on appearances and curated personas drives people to invest physical, mental, emotional, financial, and spiritual energy into looking good. Social media, advertising, and lifestyle positioning reward polished facades and encourage continuous image management. Massive spending flows into beauty, fitness, and self-improvement industries to win acceptance and admiration. Achieving an idealized outer image often increases feelings of being unseen and unappreciated for inner complexity. Constructed facades invite objectification and provoke hurt, anger, depression, and emptiness. Owning imperfections and showing humanity creates space for genuine connection and reduces the cycle of seeking validation.
Read at Psychology Today
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