‘Pictures posted online shouldn't be a benchmark of your image'

Most of us while scrolling down our social media feeds sipping our daily cuppa in the morning have had this thought  — ‘How does he/she look so good, but I look awful even though I hit the gym four times a week?’

Well, it’s no secret that social media can blur the lines between reality and fantasy. A recent study showed that young women felt bad about their appearance after looking at social media pages of someone that they perceived to be more attractive than them. We take a look at this situation and spoke to image experts and models.

Photographer Akshaya Vaidyanathan, who is known for her inclusive photography, says, “When I shoot with models, it is not about them looking thin or pretty, it’s all about the person being comfortable in what they wear and feel confident about it. That matters a lot. If you are able to walk confidently into a theatre in pajamas, well, who knows you might be setting a fashion trend! You don’t need to wear lipstick or mascara while going for a movie. I don’t know who set all these standards of how a person should look while stepping out of the house.”

The photographer is someone who wears her grandmother’s 75-year-old nose pin and feels proud of it. “Women, especially youngsters, shouldn’t get carried away with the trends that are happening on social media. If you feel comfortable in your own skin, you don’t need to have bright lipstick while going shopping,” she adds.

Model-stylist Mehndi Jashnani admits that social media puts pressure on everyone — right from the looks to the way of living. “Everything depends on how you take it. According to me, social media is a boon to many people across the world. It suggests you best tricks and tips on all matters under the sun. It’s up to you to filter and take the content that you wanted. In this era, you have to be courageous and face the reality, don’t feel ashamed of how you look in front of others,” she says.

When a woman sees images of other women who are better than her, she tends to make comparisons; that is a natural human tendency. Dr Sheela Nambiar opines, “She might not achieve the waistline of a fit person. But if she is progressive and could accept the reality, then that’s all that matters. We should change the way we speak to ourselves. We cannot do away with social media and it might be worse in the coming years. It depends on how you take things.”