It’s a known fact that women have always struggled with body image. According to history, the ideal body includes having a small waist, being short in stature, long legs, etc. This ideal body type has been around  forever. And, it’s been haunting young women for that long, as well. The only difference is that in past centuries, it was all stares and whispers but, in the 21st-century social media takes this issue to a whole new level. 

In an informal survey, I asked ten girls, all of different ages, body types, and friend groups, the following three questions: Have you ever felt less than when scrolling through social media;  have you ever measured your worth based on how skinny you looked that day; have you ever been bullied about your body, which led to poor body image?

They all had the same answers to all three questions: “Yes.”

Can you see a common theme here? Almost every girl out there has dealt with  this, and we don’t even realize it. However, while poor body image might be a problem that will never go away, there are ways young women can deal with it to live happier lives. 

 Most importantly, everyone regardless of gender, needs a stable, healthy support system with people to lean on when it gets tough. It’s not the worst thing to cut out the people in your life that stifle you. Friends that compare you to others or bring you down aren’t real friends so surround yourself with people who make you feel good.  

It is also vital, when feeling critical about your body, to remind yourself of the things you like about yourself. When asking the girls in my survey what they liked about themselves, everyone was able to name at least one thing.  

Even though it may be tough, limiting social media has been proven to help improve psyche. Spend time doing something that makes you happy and forget all about social  media. Maybe even go as far as turning off the notifications. 

Lastly, you must remember that everyone feels this way once in a while and you’re definitely not alone.