‘Do You Think I’m Ugly?’

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DIANA LI
Staff Writer

Every day, millions of people access the Internet. Some use it to socialize, and others utilize it for work. While there are plenty of good reasons to visit the World Wide Web, there are also negative ones lurking around the corner; for teens with low self-esteem, it can be an open forum for them to ask complete strangers, “Do I look ugly?”
YouTube is one of the websites that teens visit to receive an evaluation of their physical appearances. One girl who uploaded a video on her channel confessed that, “A lot of people call me ugly, and I think I’m ugly. I think I’m ugly and fat.” Her video has over 4 million views and more than 100,000 comments, most of which are offensive. However, she is not alone; there are an estimated 300 to 1,000 videos posted with the same question waiting for confirmation.
Posted videos can lead to adverse consequences, such as fostering cyberbullying and pedophilia. Additionally, experts question the impact that critical remarks have on young developing minds.
“Negative feedback that is personal is rarely easy to hear at any age, but to tweens and teens who value as well as incorporate feedback into their own sense of worth, it can be devastating,” nursing professor Elizabeth Dowdell said, according to usatoday.com.
Low self-esteem is attributed to disorders including depression and eating disorders. Teen promiscuity has also been linked to low self-esteem, as well as body dysmorphic disorder, a psychiatric disorder in which the affected person is excessively concerned about an imagined or minor defect in their physical features. Contributors of low self-esteem include obesity, parenting style and school performance. Furthermore, both males and females post videos to gain security about their appearances.
“The main cause of low self-esteem is that teenagers these days always go for perfection [in] everything. However, we all know that it is impossible for anyone to be perfect, so teens eventually get frustrated because they can’t reach [it],” Peer Counseling member Kunyou Guan said.