The Social Kiddo Connection

When I was 13, I gave up on magazines.

Years before the advent of social networking, I felt extremely alone in the midst of beautiful (and thin) models who were not just beautiful but smart too.

I'm sure the magazines made sure that they were "ordinary" girls and their lives was something everyone can aspire for, however, even if that was their goal, I didn't felt that way because they were impossibly "retouched" (a term I did not even know about until I studied Advertising in College).

I rarely told my friends about giving up my favorite magazines simply because everybody worshipped magazines and nobody thought that what they were projecting made everyone else feel inferior.

However, a good thirteen years later and my heart is bursting with joy over magazines today and how kids are brave enough to voice out their issues about perfection. Thirteen years ago it would have been impossible, but today, thanks to social networking sites, kids are more vocal and they are braver than we have ever been when we were younger.

Just like in 21 Jump Street, the kids are entirely different now. Being different is applauded and although i may not be entirely sure about cliques not existing, at least more kids are open to accepting people who are different.

A fourteen year old recently stood up to a popular magazine challenging the airbrushing of celebrities and now another magazine is now encouraging "healthy" looking models. Now, women are encouraged to lose weight the healthy way and strong is now the new skinny.

Things have come a long way since I was a teenager and I am hopeful of the great things to come. That kids are now empowered through social networking to express what they really feel.

That although I understand that  it is also a way to bully kids, looks like these days, kids are using it to unite towards a common goal: making the world a better place.

So maybe that Zuckerberg guy really knows what he's doing.