GYALDEM

2016 has been hard work.

Amidst political disasters, so many icons sadly passing away and, as far as I’m concerned, international chaos – it raises concerns about what this really means for young people.

The economic outlook for this age group is, let’s face it, gloomy as fuck. And on top of this the constant digital connection means that we’re faced with constant judgement and comparison to others – in a world where platforms like Instagram are designed to lead us to believe that everyone is living a picture perfect life.

The reality is this: Girls in the UK are significantly less confident about their looks than they were five years ago. Young women feel their lives are "on hold" because of work, financial, housing and mental health problems.

And alarmingly, these feelings were far more prevalent among the 11- to 21-year-olds who took part in the poll. To break it down:

-          80% felt their looks were the most important thing about them
-          66% felt they were not pretty enough
-          61% felt the need to be perfect


If I, as a 24 year old woman, feel inadequate when being bombarded with images of the 'ideal woman' – what mental effect is this going to have on the next generation of young females? If celebrities like Kylie Jenner are having cosmetic surgery to look ‘perfect’ and then claim its natural, how are young girls going to feel when they don’t look the same? Are men going to expect us to look this way? Unrealistic body expectations are creating a generation of unhappy females – and worst of all, social media creates a space for commenting on appearance 24/7, which inevitably leads to girls craving this sort of validation.

These "intense and unobtainable appearance pressures to be perfect" can surely only lead to a more appearance-obsessed generation, which – real talk for a second – will be absolutely SHIT.

But this is where I’m stuck. Because what exactly is the solution here? I’m guilty of posting pictures of myself and liking pictures of attractive people just as much as the next guy. Is it about empowering women? Is it about body confidence? Is it about the dangers of celebrification?

2016 has been hard work, sure, but the real challenge lies in how we empower the females of the future in years to come.

DM me if you got the answer.