The paradox of youth: cherish it while you can
March 26, 2025
Photo of smart phone by Jakub Zerdzicki at Pexels with AI generated image by myshoun from Pixabay
Nataliya Tichoniuk examines how social media distorts the perception of youth
‘Youth is wasted on the young’, is a common rebuttal directed at young people when they complain or fixate on their appearance.
Youth is a precious and valuable time that everyone deserves to relish. Youth is a time for adventure and discovery, enjoying the energy of parties, events and festivals, having fun and creating memories that will last a lifetime. It’s a time for being careless and taking risks, along with learning some of life’s biggest lessons.
From what I can tell so far, most people look back on their youth as being the most colourful and vibrant time of their life, grateful for the opportunity of adventure, peak health and strength. While youth can be remembered as idyllic, when you’re actually living through it, you may not realise how significant this chapter is.
It’s a well-known truth that, alongside the nostalgia and wistfulness that comes with reminiscing about youth, there can also be regret. Regret for not being more grateful for the vitality and innocence of being young. I’ve often heard adults offer advice, urging us to appreciate our youth more and stop obsessing over things we can’t change, most importantly our looks.
It’s now widely acknowledged that social media is detrimental to our wellbeing, regardless of age. It’s also well known that it has heavily altered and distorted our perceptions and expectations of our physical appearance.
Youth is celebrated for its freedom, yet young people face pressure to meet impossible standards
Stem4 recently reported that three out of four young people feel unhappy with how they look. The impossible standards set by social media leave no room for mistakes, bad days or ‘weird’ bits, creating an environment that disregards the variability and beauty of being human.
Generation Alpha, immersed in technology since birth, has only known the unrealistic beauty standards curated by social media. These children, aged 0–15, are victims of constant insecurity. They are most fixated on their appearance, primarily due to the beauty trends and tips they are exposed to daily online. As a result, they are highly image-conscious, shaped by this overwhelming culture of beauty ideals.
In reality, appearance has become a form of consumption – a commodity. Human bodies are placed under a judgmental lens on social media, where they are intensely scrutinised not only for flaws but also used as tools to manufacture insecurities. These insecurities are magnified and fed back into a cycle of online validation, turning people into consumers of their own self-doubt.
Online platforms have sparked a wave of hyper-fixation on appearance and the effects on young people are already visible. Sites like TikTok showcase girls as young as nine following extensive and expensive skincare routines. This creates a vicious cycle where these digital spaces’ unrealistic beauty standards fuel anxiety, with the youngest generation being the most impacted.
Youth is celebrated for its freedom, but today’s young people face intense pressure to meet impossible standards. Change is possible through conversations about self-worth, media literacy and embracing diverse beauty. By promoting authenticity and reminding ourselves to be grateful for the gift of youth, we move closer to a world where self-acceptance replaces self-doubt.
If you’re struggling with body image challenges, you can check out the following resources for support:
