I’m mindlessly scrolling, and then a bright color, beautiful face, or particular texture catches my eye.
I’ve been on the other side of influencing, of course—a victim to its insidious powers. I’m mindlessly scrolling, and then a bright color, beautiful face, or particular texture catches my eye. I tap on the photo and am pleased to discover the product is tagged. Suddenly I have a digital shopping cart and hopeful visions of my future self. I’m not buying a $70 shirt. I am buying poreless skin, a flat stomach, long legs. I’m buying a type of beauty that I will never have. I recognize (and worry) that when I post images of my own body on social media—advertising clothes or powders or lotions—I may be the very source of toxic thought spirals of body comparison for other women.