It has not been so long ago since I graduated from university (2014).
But in these past four years, the visible changes in the way students are concerned about their physical appearance while attending university have blown my mind and there is nothing else we can blame this on other than technology, social media especially.
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The pressure to look perfect
When I look back at the time I spent in university, social media apps like Snapchat and Instagram were just beginning to become popular.
It was the start of their influence but they did not consume our attention as they do now.
Despite the distractions of seeing rich kids coming to university in sports cars or girls carrying designer bags to class, never did it really affect students on a deeper level or make them obsessed with wanting to look like someone else.
Going to university with messy hair, no make-up and, sometimes, not the most fashionable of clothes was never a problem for me personally, and never did it make me feel insecure about myself because my number one priority was education and learning.
The scene is completely different now.
With the full force of social media being unleashed upon us, the sharing of content and the influencer phenomenon, along with heavy advertising, is making students feel the need to be obsessive about their image, use more make-up (than is necessary in a campus context), and follow the trends so they can fit in with their peers.
When I spoke to a group of female students who are attending the same university I graduated from, I was shocked to hear of the kind of pressures they have to face in a place where the emphasis should only be on learning and gaining knowledge.
At one point, many of them said that the pursuit of ‘image’ left them feeling insecure.
And it comes down to this: there was a set of expectations they had to meet on how they should look to be a part of the contemporary ideal.
Having flaws, they said, was no longer accepted. And in some extreme cases, girls would rather be late to an exam than come without make-up.
I do understand what they have to go through, but I feel thankful this was not during my time at the university.
What we are seeing on social media now is controlling our lives on many levels, and this is what I believe we need to do: Wake up to the truth that most of what we see — with regard to the pursuit of the perfect face and body — is not realistic.
