In society today, one of the main issues that many people have to deal with is the unrealistic expectations set by social media every day that often lead to severe consequences concerning the health and well-being of the individual. On Tuesday, February 4^th, an assembly held for students discussed this prominent issue.

Two guest speakers, Pine Crest alum and licensed mental health counselor Mrs. Jamie Blosser-Morris (’02) and Dr. Gillian Bush, Psy D visited and discussed the effect that social media has on people today as well as the general subject of self-image. From the beginning, the guest speakers established an assembly, encouraging students to speak and discuss their opinions and views on the topic. Chloe Quail, freshman, commented, “I thought that the presentation was very insightful on the issues that many people experience today.” Mrs. Blosser-Morris and Dr. Bush spoke with the students about how certain things in our lives can have a significant effect on our self-esteem and self-image, having both positive and negative results. These stimuli could include anything from your relationship with your family to the conversations that you have with your friends, or maybe just the stress that students suffer from on a daily basis. Along with these topics, the negative effects that they could cause include disorders that could impact a person’s health and mindset.

Social media can be seen as a large contributor to the stress that people of every age and ethnicity experience. Photoshop is commonly used in editing pictures of models or celebrities, giving social media the ability to “edit” a celebrity or model’s natural figure. By making them look “perfect,” unrealistic expectations are set for the public. Since people cannot reach these standards, their self-esteem drops, often having grave consequences. A student that attended the assembly commented on this growing issue, saying, “There’s this whole perception that guys and girls have to look a certain way, and it’s physically impossible for someone to have the proportions that this culture has come to expect.”

The idea that everyone should look like the people from these publications has caused many young people to turn to eating disorders to help them feel better about their self-image, having negative and often severe effects on their health and well being. This, of course, cuts their capability of functioning in everyday life, since their mind becomes absorbed in the endless attempt to meet these expectations. This urgent topic was further discussed in the assembly, which provided useful information on self-esteem and self-image and how individuals should deal with the impossible standards set by society. The assembly also encouraged the students to be confident in who they are and to not give into these expectations, a matter that is quickly growing in urgency as the media continues to portray and enforce the so-called idea of perfection.