IMITATING VIRTUAL LIVES
Looking and feeling good is obviously a positive thing and there are a lot of celebrities and social media influencers who give a lot of thought to what they post. What is scary is the thought of how self-obsessed the young generation is with themselves and the celebs they follow. “This is actually one of the gravest issues that society is facing at this point,” states Dr Lizzy Shajahan, psychologist and life coach who tries to decode the mindset of the youth. “In my opinion, the entire blame cannot be put on these kids because they are vulnerable at this age, and teenage is a time when kids are very confused about their own identities. They live in a fantasy world created by them. Their minds long for a person whom they can make their role model and follow. This thought makes them keen followers of celebrities and persuades them to try doing everything these celebrities do.”
She adds that the young generation fails to understand that celebrity life is something entirely different from what they perceive and that the narcissist posts that people upload on their social media accounts are just another way to increase their number of followers. “It is unfortunate that the youth finds this interesting and tries imitating their favourite celebrity. In the greed of getting as many likes for their photos, teenagers nowadays don’t think even once before uploading their intimate or revealing photographs. This, on their mind, forms the benchmark of how ‘cool’ they are. One of the worse situations is that these selfobsessed teens, if neglected by anyone, cannot tolerate the impact of it and end up being depressed and attempting suicide,” she warns.
Vascular radiologist and fitness trainer Swetha Devaraj, despite being aware of the pitfalls, prefers to see the positive side of having an immense number of followers on her Instagram handle, which gives tips on fitness. The posts include photos of her super toned body and videos of her fitness regime. “I think social media plays a huge role these days in everyone’s life regardless of the age group. And of course, teenagers like to keep abreast about the recent trends, be it fashion, movies or adventure, especially through Instagram because of its amazing reach. It is a great space to be informed and stay updated and it even opens up a lot of doors in terms of career choices,” she opines.
Talking of the responsibility she wields, Swetha opines, “The posts can give teenagers great ideas about the opportunities they have and also a healthier lifestyle if they follow people in the fitness industry.” But she also warns, “Since it is an open space, it can be a great distraction from studies and other important activities. It is equally easy to go in the wrong direction, if not properly guided by their parents. This doesn’t mean that parents should monitor their kids all the time, but it helps to give them friendly advices as to what would be a great page to follow from time to time.”
She adds, “As a fitness influencer, I have people of all age groups messaging me, from teenagers to senior adults, about how inspired they are and that I make a difference in their lives every day. Because my posts are always about healthy living, healthy eating, workouts and travel
— all about a lifestyle change.
Some of them even became our clients for online training.
And people always want to know more about positive living and are drawn towards what makes them happier. This motivates me a lot to keep doing what I do.”
While she has a large number of positive comments flowing in, there is no escaping the vile ones which have to do with her sports attire. Swetha remarks, “I get comments on social media and on the roads about the workout attire I wear, but it doesn’t stop me as it’s my right to wear what I want. It’s the people’s perception that needs to change, not my attire. So I just ignore those comments and trolls and focus on what I like doing.”
I get comments on social media and on the roads about the workout attire I wear, but it doesn’t stop me as it’s my right to wear what I want. It’s the people’s perception that needs to change, not my attire...
— SWETHA DEVARAJ, Vascular radiologist and fitness trainer