As a senior, I am disappointed in Park students believing that it’s acceptable to create an account to rank girls at Park. The Instagram account @slpbracketrevamped was created anonymously to rate freshman girls by their appearance. The account creator(s) put a poll on their story where their followers would vote on which girl they thought was more attractive. I am disgusted that the account gained followers and people were giving them attention and encouraging this unacceptable behavior.   

Commenting on girls’ appearances lowers our self-esteem. Since teenagers now are growing up with social media, it has made us more insecure about ourselves. Many teenagers today compare themselves to society’s impossible standard of “beautiful.” Instead of setting beauty standards and breaking people down, we need to create a more positive environment on social media.  

Celebrities like Lizzo and Billie Eilish have been trying to promote positive body images. In a few interviews Lizzo has mentioned that she wants to normalize her body in the media — meaning bigger body sizes are just as beautiful as everyone else. Billie Eilish came out with a video called “Not my Responsibility” where she addresses how she’s in control of her own thoughts about her body and shouldn’t let others influence her. 

Social media should not be a place of judgment but rather feel inclusive to everyone. We need to be positive towards each other and stop making rude comments. Young influencers need to be promoting women empowerment. Younger girls are being exposed to social media sooner than we think. Someday these girls will grow into young women and they need role models to set good examples to change the world’s perspective on women being only judged by their appearance. 

We need to educate the youth about not creating a negative atmosphere on social media, but promoting a positive platform. They’re going to be exposed to social media at a young age and we can’t stop that — but can reform the idea of it. If we just encourage positive behavior on Instagram, we can help create a welcoming atmosphere and prevent negative posts such as an account made to rank girls. 

Creating the account was a mistake from the start. Hopefully the creator(s) can learn from their actions and change their  perspective on how this deeply affects girls. In the future, I hope accounts will be made to empower instead of degrade people.