Reality or Fake-ality?

The constant growth within the marketing industry has become one of the main ways of generating revenue for an organization. However, aside from delivering effective award-winning advertisements, the marketing industry has, as well, a downside effect on an individual’s self-esteem. The digital world of media marketing has created this false world that makes it impossible to achieve. Celebrities, good or bad, have been looked upon as “role-models” and are presented as people that should be emulated, which in turn have taken a negative toll on many aspects of an individual’s lifestyle.

Model, Cameron Russell gave a bold presentation on Ted Talk which centers around on what society views her as versus whom she really is as an individual. Cameron Russel states that the images we see of her does not reflect reality, but are careful constructions built by stylists, makeup artists, and photographers. I believe this saying best describes one of the main ethical issues that have been arising within the media marketing industry.

Many individuals nowadays, even myself, have been getting mind-washed by what marketers are advertising. A good instance of this is how a vast majority of girls, like myself, believe that having small, slender figures is the only way to be accepted in society. This idealism that having the “perfect” body is the only way for us to fit in with the norm has a way of making us do certain things that might not necessarily be good for our self-esteem or for our health. I, for one, am continuously seeking for ways to lose weight primarily for the desire to feel that little boost in my confidence level even though everyone around me may not think it is necessary for me to lose those extra pounds.

What I personally took away from Cameron’s Ted Talk was not only how society profiles those that look differently from what we perceive as beautiful, but also the influential affect that media marketing has on an individual’s self-esteem and lifestyle. Everyone should feel beautiful in their own body, and oftentimes these “beauty” is hidden behind what society views as “beautiful” which in the simplest form, is created by cameras, stylists, lighting, and/or photoshop.