Media's Role in Interpreting Perfection

A common topic amongst critics of the media today is it's role on the "ideal" appearance. I agree, media does play an integral part on the look society dubs as perfect, but it's up to the person to find their own perfect, aside from what the media portrays.

I don't know the exact statistic, but I've heard it been said and could agree from my personal experience, at least in the case of girls, at least 95% of females look critically at themselves because they do not fit the ideal body type or are slightly off from the rest of the pack. They see actors on the big and small screen or models in magazines and want to be just like them because "obviously they're the popular/successful ones."

I know for me, my early years of high school were rather difficult. I was never the girl with all of Daddy's money at my fingertips or the girl with the best looks, so I looked down on myself because I felt as though I might be a failure to....

Here lies the problem. I felt like a failure, but I didn't know who I was failing or letting down. Myself? My family? My friends? Society? It's a complex situation that many people struggle with daily. But as time went on, I began to not care anymore. I didn't/don't care what others think about how I look or how I sound or how I carry myself. It all seems so materialistic now, but it makes me worry for the people that have not come to this realization just yet. With plastic surgery on the rise and different body corrections available, to what extremes will people go in order to fit the "ideal perfection" that society has created? This is a question I find myself mulling over constantly.

I plan to become a high school teacher and know that I'm going to encounter students that are struggling with these questions of self worth and I'm worried that I won't have the right words or advice to give in order to help their situations. But maybe, I'm not supposed to have the right words or advice, maybe it's something they'll have to come to the realization of on their own, just as I did and continue to remind myself about.

Yes, the idea of perfection is always going to be changing as society changes. And yes, people are always going to compare themselves to those pictured in the media. Yes, the media does play a role in this continuous downward sprial of self image difficulties. But is it 100% media's fault that there are so many image problems in the world? I don't think so.