In modern-day society, social media culture has become more and more individualized to fit specific beauty standards in Generation Z. The desire and want for popular products like lip fillers, serums, and face treatments have, and continue to increase rapidly. This has led to major changes in the young adult community as well as early teens in today’s world.
After careful consideration, it’s understandable that Gen Z promotes the usage of these products due to societal pressure. This may be tied to the fact that social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram come with easier accessibility to the younger generation. That being said, as technology is rapidly advancing, so is peer influence. This factor alone creates a negative environment with the perspective that aging is an appalling experience. “I just think [the media] makes people think that once you begin the aging process, everything is over,” English teacher Anne Marie Dominguez said.
Gen Z depends greatly on skincare procedures and plastic surgery, while in previous generations, standards were much different. Coming from a teenage perspective, life in earlier generations before Gen Z appears to be less judgemental compared to what teenagers experience today. “I would say that in previous generations, people didn’t care that much about how they looked. When I was younger, you were running around with scrapes and band-aids all over and I just was having fun, but now everyone’s so worried about how they look,” sophomore Olivia Shiek said.
In the workplace especially, the difference between males and females is evident. From a female perspective, one of the biggest things people may be perceived by is their looks and how they present themselves. “If they don’t look young and fresh and energetic and all this other stuff, they think that somehow that is going to affect their thinking and their skills and their ability to do their job right,” Dominguez said.
Many teenagers and members of Gen Z continue to take advantage of these different products without knowing about the potential negative side effects. For instance, getting work such as Botox can have several consequences on skin in the long run. Although it may grant a pleasing outcome initially, it takes time for the skin to normalize anti-aging procedures like this. “[Anti-aging products] give unrealistic expectations and they force people to strive for something that they physically can’t do,” Shiek said.
Despite negative effects, overall, anti-aging products have one very positive impact: an increase in hygiene. Furthermore, with exposure to certain self-care products, people may get into the daily routine of willingly caring for his or her skin. However, it’s important to understand that natural products can do just the trick instead of products such as Lip Plump. “The one positive is just taking care of your skin. Wearing sunscreen, drinking water, all of those things,” Dominguez said.
In all, due to the rapidly increasing exposure to anti-aging procedures online, it is concluded that beauty standards have become a strict foundation for the Gen Z generation. Procedures such as Botox continue to evolve, creating a dramatic appeal to the general public. After careful examination, the question of why people refuse to accept traditional looks and move on from unnatural products and procedures in the modern world remains unanswered.