The Dark Side of Social Media 社交媒体的阴暗面

恩蒂阿奴?奥比奥拉

These days， social media is doing more harm than good with young men and women becoming increasingly insecure due to unrealistic beauty ideals.

Social media is both the joy and the curse of the 21st century.

In one way， the digital age has opened us up to another world， created jobs we never knew could exist and connected people， the world over.

On the other hand， the pressure to keep up with what we see online has become a morbid cycle which is destroying lives one click at a time.

In particular， men and women have found themselves battling identity issues due to the unrealistic beauty standards set by what they see on social media.

Many have developed serious mental health issues， identity issues and even body dysmorphia trying to emulate the beauty standards that are simply unattainable.

How do we distinguish reality from the fake and how do we protect ourselves from the dark side of social media？

The first thing most of us do when we wake up in the morning is to instinctively reach for our phones. From the very minute we open our eyes， we are immersing ourselves in an alternate rea-lity.

Just as most of us use social media to promote ourselves， tons of celebrities， influencers， models and brands， also use it to sell themselves by creating an image of perfection.

Its hard not to see a multitude of perfectly toned beauties， flat stomachs， plump breasts， impossibly long legs and perky， perfectly rounded butts.

Thousands of Instagram accounts promote images of perfectly sculpted men and women.

Whilst we may believe we are mindlessly scrolling through such content， our subconscious is soaking it all up and before we know it， those perfectly formed bodies have become the standard by which we measure everything else.

There is an apparent problem within this false world of idealism. Thousands of famous people and models on social media document their workout routines， eating habits， and other aspects of their lifestyle that contribute to the way they look. There is only one problem with this industry; its all fake.

False representations and unrealistic standards

An Instagram model can post a picture of herself in a bikini， showing off her taut stomach， holding up a weight loss tea supplement. Her caption1 reveals that said supplement is the secret to her honed physique.

This alone， sends a very dangerous message to millions of her followers， the majority of whom are impressionable young women.

It is spreading the idea that supplements， diet pills and detox teas are the best way to achieve her body type， when in reality， it could not be further from the truth.

More often than not， their looks are a combination of gym， plastic surgery and a generous amount of retouching2.

Her job is to look perfect and promote merchandise. This creates an unrealistic beauty standard for all of her followers who believe that this product is their ticket to a perfect body.

In reality， a perfect body does not exist. An immense amount of planning， makeup and photo editing went into the final Instagram picture she posted. Its designed to sell a product， not support a healthy lifestyle.

This leads to low self-esteem and negative thinking towards food. It is incredibly important to teach young women and men that social media is not real life.

Every day， we see the hashtag “body goals” or “thinspo3，” which is supposed to serve as inspiration to acquire a thin body.

In essence， social media tells us that we need to be a beautiful person in order to be worthy which could not be further from the truth.

According to eating disorders statistics estimated by the National Eating Disorder Association， in the USA up to 30 million people suffer from an eating disorder such as anorexia nervosa， bulimia nervosa or binge eating disorder. Worldwide the figure is more like 70 million sufferers.

There is a positive correlation between the rise of social media and the rise in eating disorders among young men and women. Many desperately trying to emulate the types of bodies they see and ending up doing more physical and psychological damage to themselves.

The beauty revolt

In a kickback against the devastating effects of social media on， in particular on young people already struggling to understand themselves and where they fit in， a bunch of accounts have popped up on Instagram revealing the truth behind those “perfect” pictures. Accounts such as @celebface may seem like they are picking on people but in reality， they are created to remind us that social media is nothing but smoke and mirrors and that those we hold in such high self-esteem are nothing but mere mortals.

Celeb Face will make you feel better about yourself and realise that “celebs theyre just like us！！！” You can see their pores and fine lines， and they too use FaceTune. The account also reveals before and after surgery shots of celebrities and influencers so that we can see that some of these “ideal” bodies are man-made. Overall， it reminds us not to be so hard on ourselves.

如今，社交媒体正变得弊大于利，由于社媒所展示的美丽范本不切实际，年轻人的安全感与日俱减。

社交媒体带给21世纪的，既有欢乐，也有诅咒。

一方面，数字时代为我们打开了一个新世界，创造了意想不到的工作岗位，将世界各地的人们联系起来。

另一方面，紧跟网络潮流的压力已形成一种病态循环，每一次点击都让生活糟糕一分。

尤其是，无论男女，都发觉自己正饱受身份认同问题的困扰，就因为在社交媒体上看到了不切实际的美丽标准。

为了竭力向那些根本无法企及的美丽标准看齐，很多人出现了严重的心理问题和身份认同问题，有的甚至出现了身体畸形。

如何去伪存真？如何保护自己不被社交媒体的阴暗面所影响？

早上醒来，大多数人下意识做的第一件事就是伸手拿手机。从睁眼的那一刻起，我们就沉浸在另一种现实中。

正如我们当中的多数人通过社交媒体来做自我提升，不计其数的名人、网红、模特及品牌也在利用社媒构筑完美形象，进行自我推销。

社媒上有无数修炼得体型完美的美女，想不看都难。这些美女个个小腹平坦、胸部丰满，还有着不可思议的大长腿和滚圆饱满的臀型。

成千上万的“照片墙”账号都在推送这些精雕细琢的男女形象。

我们可能认为自己只是在随意浏览这些内容，但实际上，我们的潜意识已经不自觉地照单全收——那些造型完美的身材已经变成我们衡量一切的标准。

在这个理想主义的虚假世界中，有个问题显而易见。成千上万的名人和模特在社媒上记录着他们达成这种体型的生活方式，包括日常锻炼、饮食习惯等。这一行的问题只有一个：满屏谎言。

虚假的呈现和不切实际的标准

模特可以在“照片墙”上发一张自己的比基尼照，炫耀紧实的腹部，手拿减肥茶保健品。照片所配文案透露说，这种保健品就是她维持好身材的法宝。

只用这张照片，她就向自己的几百万粉丝——其中大部分是易受影响的年轻女性——传递了一条非常危险的信息。

这条信息散播的观念就是：要想拥有她的体型，保健品、减肥药和排毒茶是最佳选择。但实际上，这真是胡扯到了极点。

大多数情况下，她们能呈现出这样的外形，靠的就是锻炼和整形，再加上大量的修图。

她的工作就是看起来完美无缺和推销产品。这为她所有的粉丝树立了一个不切实际的美丽标准，粉丝们也都相信，那种产品就是让身材完美的入场券。

事实上，完美身材并不存在。在她把照片最终发上“照片墙”之前，应该花了大量时间谋划、化妆和修图。发照片的目的就是卖货，绝非主张健康的生活方式。

这样的照片会让人自尊心受损，对食物产生消极的想法。所以，极为重要的一点就是要教年轻人知道，社交媒体上呈现的不是真实的生活。

每天，我们都会在社媒上看到诸如“身材目标”或“瘦成闪电”的话题标签，这些是想要瘦身的人用来激励自己的。

究其本质，社媒给我们传达的信息就是，我们只有变美丽才有价值——这也是胡扯到了极点。

根据美国饮食失调学会提供的数据，全美饮食失调患者估计多达3000万人，他们当中有的神经性厌食，有的神经性贪食，还有的暴饮暴食。从世界范围看，饮食失调患者可能多达7000万人。

社交媒体的兴起和饮食失调年轻人的增加——这两者之间的关系是正相关的。很多年轻人拼命效仿社媒上看到的各种体型，最后都遭受更多伤害，难逃身心俱损的结局。

对抗美丽

对于年轻人，尤其对于那些还难以认清自己、对自我定位感到迷茫的年轻人来说，社交媒体的影响极为恶劣。为了抵制这种影响，“照片墙”上出现了一批账号，专门揭露那些“完美”照片背后的真相。像@celebface（名人脸）这样的账号，看似在揭人短，实际却是在提醒我们，社媒不过是烟幕弹和镜像，而那些我们仰望的人不过就是纯粹的凡人。

“名人脸”会让人感觉良好，意识到“名人原来也和我们一样！！！”。你可以看到他们的毛孔和细纹，发现他们也用FaceTune来修图。该账号还爆料贴出名人和网红整形前后的对比照，由此可以看出，那些“完美”身材其实都是人工打造的。总的说来，它在提醒我們：做人，别对自己太苛刻。

（译者为“《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛获奖者;单位：广西民族大学）

1 caption说明、字幕等。  2 retouch对图片或照片等进行修饰。

3 thinspo = thinspiration，表示一种对瘦的推崇与渴望。