Why do I care about Kim K's huge butt? I mean, it's lovely and whatnot but why is my Facebook newsfeed, Cosmopolitan Snapchat Story, Twitter feed, Instagram feed, Pinterest, and literally any and every other social media displaying this lady in body-suffocating clothing when I couldn't care less about how much weight she lost since the pregnancy of her second child? The amount of information I know about the Kardashians is downright stalker-like. I mean, if anyone knew the color of toilet paper I keep in the bathrooms in my house, I would get a restraining order! (FYI; Kris's TP is black).
So why is it that this generation is obsessed with the way celebrities look? Really, I bet Khloe gives tons to charity and I'm sure Kourtney volunteers on the daily, but why is there so much emphasis on what they're wearing, who they're wearing, and even what they're not wearing.
I have a theory.
Bear in mind, I'm just a nineteen-year-old with a computer and a brain. I'm not a cultural analyst or a Kardashian expert. (Sidenote: I spelled "Kardashian" as "Kardasian" and my computer knew enough about the famous family to autocorrect it to "Kardashian.")
I think that, whether this is the goal or not, social media is geared towards highlighting (no pun intended) our appearances. I think that the youngsters of today are obsessing over their bodies.
Here's how;
- The very fact that a porn star with a killer body was able to become so outrageously famous is upsetting. Now I know, I know, her father was rich. Still, I think the main reason why she is famous now is because of a tape. A special tape. Which I haven't seen, but have a pretty good idea that it shows a decent amount of skin. (Note: This applies to both Kim and Paris Hilton).
- Eating disorders have increased in young adult females between 15-19 every decade since 1930. I don't think it's a stretch to say that one reason for this is due to the increase and development of new forms of mass media, for instance, magazines, catalogs, billboards, ads in the paper, easier access to movies, computers, the internet, and many other ways to broadcast pictures of bodies.
- Makeup, makeup, makeup, makeup. Highlighting, contouring, winged eyeliner, matte lipstick (Kylie Jenner's even got a brand), and so many other new types of temporary alterations to our face are popping up faster than the acne of the kids who are using them.
In summary: We're obsessing over our bodies by worshiping the naked star of a home movie, by starving and binge-purging our way to perfection, and by spending too much time and money on changing the way our faces look.
Social media is bombarding us with new ways to look, how to look that way, what to buy to look that way, who's looking that way, and why we should want to look that way. Maybe with the high rate of obesity, a push towards caring about our bodies is a good thing. But again, young adults are taking drastic measures to literally fit into the designer jeans society is shoving our butts into. I think that there needs to be less stress on what your body looks like on the outside, and more stress on what it looks like on the inside. Just because someone has abs does not mean they get all their vitamins and minerals, right? Most importantly, we should care less about what other people do. I don't care about Bieber's new hairstyle or T-Swift's breakup drama with Calvin Harris. Honestly, I'm just focusing on figuring out how to watch Netflix for less than 4 hours at a time. And that's enough stress for me.
