How toxic are “glow-ups”?
If you’re an avid scroller on TikTok and Instagram you will surely have seen the social concept of “glow-ups”. My “Explore” and “For You” pages are saturated with peoples’ physical transformations. It’s been this way for the past 4+ years and I think I really internalised that this is what social media is meant to look like but it really doesn’t have to be.
CM’s TikTok algorithm brings him football content, silly (eye roll) videos and clips of shows. In contrast, mine is full of “what I eat in a day’, “morning routines” and people promoting gym clothes and their discount code (don’t forget the added leg kick and twist at the end.) But why, why are we obsessed with transformations? How insecure of a generation are we and why do we place so much importance on physical appearance?
What is a glow-up?
“A "glow-up" is a slang term used to describe a significant transformation, typically in physical appearance, that is perceived as an improvement. It's the process of turning yourself into a better version of yourself and becoming more confident, attractive, and successful. “ (Later, 2023)
You may be wondering why I’m having a go at transformation content given the above definition. Of course, I want everyone to feel confident in themselves and be successful. But to who’s standard are we benchmarking attractiveness these days? I’m also thinking about all the young girls and boys who are consuming this content and the effect that it may be having on their self-confidence, worth and perception of reality.
Do you remember the Facebook whistle blower Frances Haugen? Haugen was a Product Manager at Facebook and leaked their internal studies that found that 13.5% of teen girls say Instagram makes their thoughts of suicide worse, and 17% of teen girls say Instagram makes their eating disorders worse. It would be interesting to see those statistics today and would be extremely telling if TikTok were to release this type of reporting. I’m sure the results would be absolutely horrific due to the nature of content shown on its platform.
What glows up, must also glow-down…
Later’s social media glossary has proved a very useful tool in this blog as it has provided me with a definition of a glow-down and it’s as grim as you can imagine. Here we have it; “While a "glow-up" refers to a positive transformation or improvement in one's physical appearance or confidence over time, a "glow-down" indicates the opposite — an apparent decline in attractiveness or self-presentation.”
These concepts are so subjective to the opinion of others, the idea that we attach a glow-down to someone who may have gained weight or developed a skin condition is completely obscene. Why should either of these things alter our opinion on an individual’s personality or treatment of others? This social shaming is consequence to living our life in front of a screen where we seek validation and positive reinforcement in the form of engagement.
Glow-Ups vs Body Positivity
The internet is a modern day amphitheatre for many different conversations. From politics to incels, feminism to misogynism and glow-ups to body positivity. The latter seems to certainly act against each other. On one hand you could say glow-ups are about being body positive and that some people can only feel confident and at ease when they are typically skinnier, “prettier” and showcasing their Insta-perfect life of green drinks, scented candles and beige leggings.
Whereas, the body positivity movement wants us all to be happy in the vessels that we have whilst still focusing on physical appearance as an indicator of happiness with oneself. Both concepts drive the narrative forward that in a social-media centric world the only thing that matters is how we look on camera which is absolutely terrifying.
Mary
There’s only one way to finish this blog and that’s with this powerful campaign video from Dove. This ad is shown regularly during prime time TV shows and I’d like to think its impact is felt nationwide. It shows first hand how detrimental this nonsense social media content is on young viewers who aren’t aware of anything else. I’m 26 and can’t help but feel impacted or influenced by transformations, before and afters , glow-ups and god forbid, glow-downs. Think what it must be like for young people today who are constantly hoping for their social media dependent “glow-up” - whatever that really means.