La Snapchat Syndrome is a problem that is affecting especially the new generationsthe most immersed in life on social media, from TikTok to Snapchat. A problem referred to in the Wall Street Journal started talking as early as 2019 and that it has increased exponentially, as the latest data reveal, during the two years of the pandemic. The result is what experts call “dismorfia ”, a problem of self-acceptance, especially among pre-teens, causes dominant aesthetic canons on social media.
Snapchat dysmorfia: social media undermines self-acceptance
As many psychologists are denouncing, the Snapchat dysmorfia is a pathology that is part of the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Related Disorders and leads to a constant worry about yourself or a part of your body that is deemed imperfect.
@kyliejenner Instagram
The problem is the reaction: there is no desire to resort to cosmetic surgery to improve oneself by resembling the image that social filters give of us, nor to worry about a defect. The problem goes much further, because theapparent defect is considered unacceptable, even deformed, so as to undermine the daily serenity and the proria vision in the mirror, as well as in society.
Young people completely lose the global vision of themselves, coming to feel the center of negative attention from others, which in reality does not exist. Often resulting in self-isolation.
The case of the Lush company, removed from social networks as a sign of awareness
The Snapchat Syndrome alarm was also reiterated at the end of 2021, in November to be precise, when Lush, the green giant of cosmetics, has unexpectedly decided to abandon all social channels.
The company she no longer felt like continuing a communication based on satisfying the aesthetic needs of social media to the detriment of the health, including mental health, of the followers.
The complaint came from the cosmetics company when some photos published on Instagram were not approved or penalized by the platform’s algorithms because they were deemed too “ugly”, “rough” and in general “less attractive”.
So: “Be somewhere else”, you can read in large letters by opening the Instagram profile @lush_italia. A strong gesture, one of the strongest, so far, in the world of cosmetics.
Snapchat Syndrome: Norway takes sides against overly filtered beauty
Norway is the first state to take a very clear stance on Snapchat Syndrome.
Last summer it was approved an amendment to the Marketing Act that mainly involves influencers and advertisers by forcing them to declare the possible use of photo filters and beauty campaigns, with the aim of not feeding unreal expectations of perfection that are undermining the balance of the new generations.
A similar step was also taken by the United Kingdom who, supporting the campaign of make-up artist and “body positive” influencer Sasha Pallari, explicitly invited the beauty world not to use filters that exaggerate the positive effect of the products.
Beauty brands that advocate more real beauty
The fight against the dominant aesthetic canons is now an effective commitment to various realities in the cosmetic world and for many beauty entrepreneurs.
From Huda Cattan with his Huda Beautyalways devoted to inclusiveness, a Rihanna with Fenty Beauty who makes a manifesto of beauty for all, passing through Alicia Keys who has been living without make-up for years and for her cosmetic line Keys Soulcare it always appears natural.
So many brands, which have been carrying out this commitment for some time. Among the forerunners Where is itwhich has been supporting the Dove Self-Esteem Project and recently launched a themed campaign: #nodigitaldistortion, underlining that today 80% of thirteen-year-olds have a distorted image of their physical appearance due to online communication, thus undermining their self-confidence.
Pinterest also does its own
Finally, Pinterest has also made its own. In fact, from 1 July 2021 it updated the policies banning the publication of ads on weight loss, phrases that denigrate certain types of bodies and references to one’s physicality. Towards a new vision of beauty, perhaps really possible.
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