Artificial beauty is all around us. In today's world, we can't get away from it. The magazines are filled with skinny, long legged goddesses, and social media is swarmed with models living charmed lives. People see these images and illusions and think that they are real. What media does not tell the public is that these images are altered and the lives of these "perfect people" are in fact not so perfect.

Artificial beauty is dangerous. It harms the lives of many and skews their perception of reality. Many people, especially teens hold themselves to impossible standards and as a result become depressed when they do not reach these lofty standards. Unrealistic media is harming those who consume it. The girls in the magazines don't even look like their pictures, so why are we all trying to emulate that kind of unattainable beauty? The media promotes materialism and fake beauty, with all sorts of advertisements that promote fine line erasers, lip plumpers, and diet pills. What happened to natural beauty? What happened to eating healthy and working out because it makes our bodies feel better and allows them to function better? Today is the age of fad diets and exercise trends, for the purpose of losing weight and looking like the "ideal person". This is the path to destruction.

The image of beauty has been drastically altered due to media and this is unacceptable. Americans are fooled by altered images and posed Instagram photos. Humans were not created to be perfect. Relish in the imperfections of humanity and remember that beauty comes from within. It is not something that can be created on a computer.