The rise of new media platforms has affected beauty trends among women across the world.
Every year, everyday beauty trends emerge and they end up spreading on the internet and social media platforms.
Social media has taught us that if you have acne you're ugly, if you're plump you’re not beautiful, if you don’t apply makeup you're backward and colonisation has also played a huge role in this that if you don’t have Eurocentric features you are also considered not attractive.
With many people accessing the internet, they are exposed to a lot of trends in skincare routines, make-up, lifestyles and fashion trends every day.
As much as these beauty trends and new standards have made women take care of themselves better, they have also left many of them depressed with low self-esteem as they cannot meet certain beauty standards.
TikTok is one the most influential and used apps among the youth where these beauty standards and trends emerge from.
The Star spoke to a few women who said they have picked beauty trends on social media, acknowledging that they can't meet all the standards set.
Brittney said the beauty standards on social media have brought more harm than good.
"The standards have robbed us of our beauty forcing us to look the same. This is evident on Tik Tok where everyone has similar-shaped eyebrows, cat eyes and fuller lips," Wandia said.
She said she was once depressed as she did not match the beauty standards set on social media.
"But once I stopped caring about the standards, I became better and now am happier,” Wandia said.
Winny said that she has been able to learn how to do make-up with the help of social media platforms and this has made her feel more beautiful.
"Although make-up has made me live a fantasy that I too can be beautiful according to societal standards, the sad reality dawns on me when I go home and remove my makeup and I realise it was all a facade."
Maggie said if you are conventionally beautiful or fit into the societal beauty standards then you will receive some privileges.
"There are beauty standards as a whole and also among our races (black, Asian and white) and if you are beautiful according to society you get pretty privileged," Maggie said.
