54.2% effected by BID. WHY?

You are scrolling through your Instagram feed and come across a photo of a perfect looking model, dressed impeccably, perfect weight and a flawless face. What is the first thought that comes to mind? Oh! She is perfect in everyway. And then, if not immediately, maybe sometime later you compare yourself to the model you saw. Weight, height, skin, clothes are common comparison points. 

Now if you are at a certain level of maturity, you may say this is all makeup, photoshop, editing etc. Even then there is a momentary comparison, and then the logical brain kicks in.

Young adults, aged 18-25 are more vulnerable to this comparison. By the way, this is a real phenomenon and has a name. Psychologists call it Body Image Dissatisfaction (BID). It is more prevalent in females aged 18-25.

WHAT IS BODY IMAGE DISSATISFACTION? 

BID is having a negative feeling and perception with any part or all of your body. It might not be a correct representation of how you actually look. BID arises from external factors such as pressures to meet a certain appearance ideal. It is directly proportional to the amount of exposure to social media.

To validate BID a survey was conducted in private universities of Karachi. Of almost 800 students between the age of 18-25, a staggering 54.2% had a body Dissatisfaction problem. Now that is a huge number!

A small survey conducted by us at Marjees Botanicals,  52.17% of female respondents felt the pressure to look a certain way because of unrealistic beauty images projected on social media.

Now, BID is a serious problem.  It can lead to low self esteem, disappointment and guilt.

We, at Marjees Botanicals, promote a healthier, not necessarily perfect, version of you. Healthier version both physically and mentally, through self care. We want to raise a roar against unrealistic standards of beauty, to which almost all of us fall victim to. Let's promote beauty without filters, editing or retouching. Let's promote #BEAUTYUNEDITED. If you know somebody who has been a victim of BID, tell them they are beautiful just the way they are.

Leave a comment for us under the blog telling us if you have felt pressured, even if slightly, to look a certain way because of unrealistic standards of beauty on social media.