If there’s a melting pot of cultures, interests, and all sorts of information anywhere on the web, it definitely has to be TikTok.

We can easily access various types of content that we might find interesting thanks to the social media platform – but among the many downsides of it, is the ever-changing and unrealistic lifestyles that we’re constantly exposed to, inevitably leaving its users (especially the younger ones) with an intense pressure to conform and stay on-trend.

With tons of conventionally attractive celebrities showing off their excessive wealth, perfect bikini bodies, and (this time around) god-like chiselled jaws, it’s no wonder that many are scrambling to achieve yet another body feature that we’ve come to see as the norm.

One woman took to TikTok to brag about how she easily banished “over an inch of fat” from her face.

A chiselled chin is the new beauty trend. Image Credit: @theaudreypeters, @tiahneesolarr​

Adding that her double chin has always been her biggest insecurity, Audrey Peters shared that after trialling a handful of different methods, the only process she would recommend is “air sculpting”, which requires “no scalpel, no anaesthesia – just a sedative for anxiety”.

But it seems to not be working well for others, as several users admitted that the side effects of their surgery made their “double chin” look much worse than it had been in the first place. Although they were reassured that the extreme swelling would go down in time.

Video Credit: @audreypeters​

Interestingly, the pressure to obtain sharp jawlines isn’t exclusive to women. While the overwhelming majority of posters are females, men such as user ‘witchminaj’ also decided to hop on the trend.

Despite countless similar videos scattered across various social media platforms, it’s actually not a cheap process. In Australia (depending on the type of procedure) the price for chin sculpting ranges from a whopping $2,000 to upwards of $4,000 per session.

The pressure isn’t exclusive to women. Image Credit: @withminaj​

According to Mission Australia’s Youth Survey conducted in 2018, 30 percent of Australian female teenagers are concerned about their body image while 15.4 percent of Australian male teenagers feel the same way.

In addition, one study stated that more than 50% of adults from the US, UK, Australia, France, and Germany reported experiencing weight stigma.

A 20 year old also touched on the issue saying: "My close friends will send me images from Instagram just saying, 'Oh my God, this person, look at this'. It's just constant and normal now and daily."

"Sometimes you feel like it's so hard to disengage. You might see people on the street and compare yourself to them but it doesn't stop when you get home because you go through social media and you have all these pictures of beautiful people.”

“It's this constant pressure, not necessarily just outside, but even when you're inside on your own with all of these images all of the time. It's this constant reminder that this is how you should look and this is what's acceptable in society."

Although it’s completely normal for anyone to have insecurities, it can be psychologically troubling to be bombarded by standards that, if we’re being honest, we’ll probably never achieve.

So, even if you have a double chin, a not so ‘perfect’ nose (whatever that means), or a belly that doesn’t sit flat but can store all your favourite snacks, remember that there’s nothing you need to change to be considered beautiful – You just are!

What are your thoughts on this story? Share them with us in the comments and maybe even tell someone they look great today!

Watch more about how beauty culture may be hurting us with the video below:

Video Credit: Vox​

 

[Ricci]

I am eternally grateful that there was no social media when my kids were growing up. I feel for the youth of today who are constantly bombarded with the unrealistic expectations of so called influencers. They are not emotionally equipped to deal with these pressures, and no amount of family involvement is as strong as someone on their phone or computer telling them something.

 

[madoudjih]

I appreciate that you brought up so an important topic. It seems like social media are bringing beauty standards to other people. Still, at the same time, most of the influencers are using various filters and video effects to hide their bad parts, so the final image that teenagers see looks ideal, but if you search for photos or videos of this person from other sources, you will see that they are like normal people can look bad sometimes. Also, remember that some of these *influencers can use services like tikdroid.com to get more followers than they truly deserve.