You are Ugly

My calves are too big, my nose it too long, I am too fat, I wish I looked like her. Self-image is an issue that plagues both men and women of all ages across the globe. Growing up, most kids are constantly hearing how handsome or pretty they are from their parents, friends, and family members, so what drives these insecurities?  These issues are insecurities that are created through the media. The media is the driving force of what is “in style”. This is easily seen with fashion, but also has major influence on body images. These “ideal images” change over time and can be influenced by different nationalities as well.

We look at magazines, watch television, see billboards and on all of these forms of media they display their ideal perception of beauty. Even before the eruption of the internet and social media, the media was still an influence on what people thought was beautiful, but it was in a much more control setting. People did not have as much 24/7 access to the media. Magazines and advertisement were still in effect, but for many people those people were unattainable. Seeing models in magazines can dehumanize the people in a way where viewers don’t envy them because they can’t relate to them. The famous, the rich, the beautiful “opinion leaders” were out of reach for many and it made the impact of body image a little less dramatic.

With the introduction of internet, people could view more than they ever could at a speed that was almost instantaneous. With the internet also came the introduction of social media. The concept of these social media platforms were avenues of networking with people from virtually any place in the world at any given time. The ability to stay connected was intended to be beneficial, but when it came to how people viewed themselves, there have been some major setbacks.

If I had to think about one social media site where this is seen, I think of Instagram. When I go on my Instagram discovery at any given time, I am bombarded with pictures of Girls, guys, famous people, athletes, and models. If I don’t follow them already, they give me the opportunity to see more than hundreds of pictures of people to “stay connected”. With Instagram, you can follow anyone with an account and keep up to date with their lives from pictures and videos they post. Most of these people are considered “opinion leaders”. People value how they look and what they say. These people we follow, are who set the trends of what is “attractive”. Girls particularly, view other girls and are suddenly riddled with insecurities they didn’t have before they saw an “opinion leader”. Having constant access to seeing people that are viewed as “perfect” on camera can have a negative effect on many adolescents and adults. Unlike the previous forms of media, sites such as Instagram make these opinion leaders that were once out of reach, tangible. You can spend all day scrolling through their pictures, relating to them. You realize, “this person does the same things I do!” and that is exciting because you can relate to someone that “matters”. Social media has created a world where everyone trying to imitate opinion leaders with the hope that they can become an opinion leader as well. When it comes to body image, people hope that if they look just like an opinion leader, they are considered “beautiful” or at least get a like on a picture. Regardless of what is actually beautiful or not, opinion leaders on social media are the driving force of how society view of themselves.

“eyebrows on fleek.”, somehow in the past couple years, society has decided what the ideal eyebrow looks like. From celebrities to Instagram models, if your “eyebrows aren’t on fleek” watch an elaborate YouTube video and you can turn your bushy brow into the exact replica of what society wants them to be. I remember before Kim Kardashian became a media icon, curves on a woman was not very publicized. Women did not want to be overly curvatious, that was seen through body standards that were held by previous opinion leaders. It seems that as Kim Kardashians popularity rose, so did the number of women getting butt jobs. Before Kim K, there were plenty of women that were curvy, but she made it “cool” to have curves. Girls and women wanted look like her. That is how opinion leaders influence people. Their look becomes what is in style, and if you want to be in style you will do what it takes to look like them.

If you don’t look like them, then you aren’t beautiful by society’s standards. I don’t think that is right. How crazy is it that simply because your eyes are half a centimeter wider than the girl on Victoria Secret’s billboard you are viewed as less than? These are all standards created by us, and enforced by social media, there is no rule that declares what makes someone attractive. People are not eating, over-eating, getting boob jobs, butt jobs, Botox, extensions, waist trainers, etc. just to look like the person they follow on Instagram.

Social media has created an unlimited supply of opinion leaders. that have the influence to change what we view is socially acceptable. We give people that are no difference than you or I, the power to make us feel like how we look is not good enough because of how many followers they have on social media. There will always be opinion leaders, but social media has made people feel that “If I just look like that, I will be popular.” This is a vicious cycle because what is “Hot” in 2017 maybe a “Not” in 2018. If you live your life trying to imitate people on social media you will never be satisfied with who you are. You will always find someone with a better body or perfect hair. Trying to live up to the standard portrayed on a screen is impossible.

Nothing is wrong with admiring opinion leaders on their unique sense of style or exotic features, but our society can’t be so driven by trying to look like someone on a poster.

To purchase or not to purchase?

When looking at the digital era we live in, new technology is a highly competitive market. Every company is looking to creating a product that is life changing. This can be seen through the establishment of the internet, cellphones, even items like the GPS. What makes one product rise to the top and who is behind it? The answer is simple, it is us, the consumers. We determine what products are a success and what is not. This is explained through Diffusion of Innovation by Everette Rodgers.

When a product is new on the market, each individual consumer go through a 5 step process of Diffusion to determine if a product is applicable in their everyday life.    

Knowledge – person becomes aware of an innovation and has some idea of how it functions,

Persuasion – person forms a favorable or unfavorable attitude toward the innovation,

Decision – person engages in activities that lead to a choice to adopt or reject the innovation,

Implementation – person puts an innovation into use,

Confirmation – person evaluates the results of an innovation-decision already made. (Orr,2013)

This process is what every consumer makes before making a purchase on products. As a consumer, we have to understand a product and its purpose before jumping into the commitment of purchasing it. The division in trusting in the purpose of a product determines on how long it take for people to purchase a new product. This is where we see the different levels of innovativeness 

that are important to look at when trying to reach consumers.

Innovators- 2.5%

Early adaptors-13.5%

Early majority-34%

Late majority-34%

Laggards-16%

Each of these sections of innovativeness make up different parts of the market.

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In 2007, Steve Jobs released a product into the cellphone market that would essentially change the term cell phone to smart  phone

indefinitely. The iPhone was in a class of its own and created instant buzz as soon as it hit the market. There had never been a phone

that came with such computer like capabilities, it was game changer. People were waiting in lines for hours to get their hands on this

new and quite expensive product. These people knew there was a degree of risk in this purchase but took their chances to either stay up

to date with the latest technology or simply to thrive off being one of the first in their neighborhood to have the iPhone.The next year

came the iPhone 3G. This phone came with 3G internet capabilities and was a little more practical than the bulkier, slower

original iPhone. This made the phone a little more functional for everyday use. This was more appealing to consumers as they could

see the benefit from the purchase. The drastic decrease in price also helped with appealing to consumers. With the release of the iPhone

4 in 2009, the iPhone was is the foreground for the ideal phone. It was the first phone to provide a front camera, and essentially

changed how people took pictures of themselves coining the term "Selfie". Not to mention its new image, smaller frame and increase

pixel count. The iPhone was just a step ahead of its competitors. Each year the iPhone realized a phone was increasingly showed

consumers that this phone was more than beneficial and a practical purchase. Skeptics could do nothing but buy into the Apple system

or get an Android. 

When breaking down the Diffusion of Innovators you can see how iPhone purchases were broken down. The innovators at Apple knew

that this product was worth the risk because the iPhone was a product the consumers needed. Those were the initial creators of the

product that were invested into the product. The early adaptors would be the thousands that waited in line for the original iPhone in 

2007. They had the financial means to purchase the iPhone and were willing to risk this product being a failure. They did not need the

reassurance of people to influence their purchase. With the release of the iPhone 3, consumers began to see the benefits of the iPhone 

and it was becoming more convenient to purchase the phone as well. This greatly influenced the early majority of consumers. This

group looked to the what the early adaptors said about the product. They may have had doubts to make the purchase, but after being

assured by reviews of current iPhone customers, they were more willing to make a purchase. The release of the iPhone 4 also came

with the conviction to influence. If the first 3 models of the iPhone didn't make a consumer budge the iPhone 4 did the trick. At this

point the iPhone had established itself has not a competitor in the market but THE market for competition. With its new image

and new features, consumers either jumped on the iPhone bandwagon or were left standing.Those left standing were the laggards. They

either were not convinced by the years of increasing capabilities of the iPhone, or don’t know what the iPhone was. In every spectrum

of a product there are consumers that take years to be persuaded to try something new due to fear of risk and possible lack of stability. 

It is important to understand when looking at this spectrum that just a product doesn't take off with a particular group of consumers

does not mean the product was a failure, it just means that the product was not viewed practical for that group. Each group is looking

for something different within a new product, the most successful products are viewed as practical and simply make life easier for

everyone. The majority of people are considered to be early majority or late majority, this is essentially the desired target audience for

most products, but you have to understand how to reach this market before the product will be effectively integrated into the market.

This is why consumers control the market. By deciding if we like a product and telling our friend or just being seen holding a product

that tells people “you should buy this”. This power of consumers can cause a product to thrive or become non existent. 

My name is Haley , I am a recent Broadcast Journalism graduate from Troy University. I am currently in the graduate program at Troy University studying Strategic Communication. I hope to graduate from this program in December, as that would conclude my collegiate soccer career as well on Troy’s campus. The purpose of this blog will be challenging and understanding different roles in media and their target audience, and looking how leadership is involved in communication studies as well. 

I am doing these weekly post in an effort to express my opinions of leadership in the media and communications settings. Many of these concepts we come in contact with everyday, but we are blinded to these tactics due to not being aware of them. Blogging is relatively new for me, but it is an area of writing I hope to develop. You can view my blog here:

http://insidemyhead777.blogspot.com