Has The World Really Become This Vain?

[Guzam]

As the years go by it seems we're all becoming so much more vain.

At first I thought it was a good thing. It seemed nice that people were going to the gym, wearing jeans that were fitted, and sprucing themselves up like never before. It generally seemed like people were trying more and that it could only be a positive.

But how wrong I was.

Even today there was a news story about a woman killing herself when her boob job didn't turn out the way she expected it to. But it doesn't end there: eating disorders are on the up, steroid abuse is on the up, plastic surgery is on the up, children with anxiety is on the up, teens and adults too. Everyone is seemingly becoming sicker and sicker and yet there is nothing being done about it.

Has advertisements really done this to us? Have we all been driven to actual insanity by advertising?

Its crazy and I imagine us folk who are losing our locks know this more than anyone.

Honestly, what the f*** is happening?

I swear someday I'm going to set up a commune in a forest and ban all mirrors and beauty products.

I think the increasing attention to appearance is mostly due to the fact that technology is destroying the physical barriers that kept people safe from looks competition.

I present as proof the fact that the more the televised and shared images and videos go up in the definition and viral potential, the less bald and ugly people appear on media. It was normal to notice bald politicians on low definition tv in the eighties, not giving a damn about their appearance because the eye of low definition was slightly hiding their flaws. Today, a balding politician had his flaws televised on HD definition on a multitude of fragmented media: thus, the bald politician has quickly known his decline. Bald politicians will cease to exist in this decade.

Looks have always been important, but ugliness is more and more becoming a liability in the age of the all seeing eye of social media, virtual connection and HD visuals. Ugliness was kept hidden by the physical barriers of past communication, thus its side effects were smoother and more manageable.

Right now, appearance is increasingly intrinsically present in our work life and social life, to the point that we uglies (baldish) won't be able to hide our flaws from the cybernetic eye of society anymore. I am pretty sure we will reach a point where even a small bit of ugliness and sign of aging will ruin careers and social lives due to the fact that appearance is growing in importance.

It is worth noting that appearance is more and more becoming a competitive advantage in the business world, where competencies are similar among competing firms and the appearance of employees is the new frontier of client acquiring and premium position. While good looks do not create value per se except in some industries, bad looks in employees are starting to destroy value in a more and more difficult world of marketing and client interaction which is increasingly client driven and vis a vis interaction and service co-production are growing in importance. In this context, a bald salesman and manager is doomed, unless his competencies far outplay his appearance. This dooms all young balding man to a glass ceiling future.

 

[rclark]

As the years go by it seems we're all becoming so much more vain.

At first I thought it was a good thing. It seemed nice that people were going to the gym, wearing jeans that were fitted, and sprucing themselves up like never before. It generally seemed like people were trying more and that it could only be a positive.

But how wrong I was.

Even today there was a news story about a woman killing herself when her boob job didn't turn out the way she expected it to. But it doesn't end there: eating disorders are on the up, steroid abuse is on the up, plastic surgery is on the up, children with anxiety is on the up, teens and adults too. Everyone is seemingly becoming sicker and sicker and yet there is nothing being done about it.

Has advertisements really done this to us? Have we all been driven to actual insanity by advertising?

Its crazy and I imagine us folk who are losing our locks know this more than anyone.

Honestly, what the f*** is happening?

I swear someday I'm going to set up a commune in a forest and ban all mirrors and beauty products.

The world is getting vainer.

And I'm one of them! I spend so much money on my hair, it's terrible. I'm probably one of the vainest men
there are for my age.

Well, a bad boob job. I can understand that. What's a woman without good boobs?

 

[That Guy]

Well, a bad boob job. I can understand that. What's a woman without good boobs?

Not sure if srs

 

[Guzam]

Yup, and social media/image sharing are to blame. They have created a mode of social interaction which is extremely visual and devalues anyone with visible flaws like baldness. To succeed in today's world you need to be share-able, someone who can impart value onto things and other people through their image alone. This extends not only to romantic relationships, but even to friendships and your career: In most firms with a social media presence, their young employees are used for marketing purposes and to serve a marketing purpose you have to look good. I can tell you from experience that the likelihood of any prestigious corporate or consulting firm hiring you as a 26-year-old bald guy are very small. You might as well not try unless you are truly exceptional.

Every time a guy I know starts going bald his Facebook is usually instant ghost town. Little to no updates, profile pics that are years old, or a celebrity picture instead. It's uncanny. Social media was a real game changer for us and for the worse.

So I'm not the only who noticed this. sh*t is really hitting the fan for us balding people. We have to treat this flaw before we reach a certain point where we aren't even employable anymore. That will be hell on earth.

Pharma companies are probably waiting for the right time to start proper research: they know we will come to a point we will be eager to spend a sh*t ton of money on working treatments in order to JUST LIVE the modern life. I'm talking about more than one hundred thousand dollars. I hope they are not this evil but I don't blame value extraction in the globalized business environment, where profits are completely eroded.

 

[Dench57]

The cure is here

 

[shookwun]

The cure is here

cure is here

 

[Dench57]

cure is here

The cure is here

 

[DoctorHouse]

What to do while waiting for the cure or going to the gym or looking at yourself in the mirror
and totally Shookwun Approved!!!!!

 

[blackg]

This is mostly just a first world big-city problem. Go to smaller towns and while there is definitely usage of social media and some advertisement penetration, it's alot less prevalent. Alot of it has to do with there just being too many damn people (and not enough resources) so the sense of competition is increasing at a fast rate, because everybody wants to live in a modern megacity. Go to a place with a lesser concentration of people and you'll finally be able to breathe a sigh of relief.

Big city life is completely "unnatural" (not enough exercise, lack of sunlight in alot of cities, too much stress, bumping into WAY too many people on a daily basis etc) therefore it starts to bring out the worst in people, manifesting in weird symptoms like BDD, depression, anxiety, whatever else.

People aren't meant to commute to work 1 hour, sit at a desk for 8 more hours, commute back another hour, sit on the couch and watch tv, rinse and repeat...you're basically sitting for 12+ hours a day (then sleeping for another 8 if you're lucky), and for what? A chance to slave away at an uninteresting job in order to fulfill your materialistic desires which have been artificially pumped into you from a young age via the same adverts that you are now consciously aware are causing you great distress?

Once you break through and have that moment of clarity, it can be a heavy heavy stress shock for alot of people; after all it's hard to reinvent yourself when you're 40+ years of age... That's when you really freak out and just start abusing recreational/prescription drugs in order to cope. Then you'll likely just switch off and go into full blown zombie mode, blindly supporting the same system which you now need in order to stay alive....congratulations you're now institutionalized. You are now fully adapted to a creepy inhuman way of life, full of misery and dull ache at this point.


The further you deviate from "natural" life, the worse it'll get... But what can you do, the big cities are where all the jobs are at, after all.

Then how are we supposed to live?
And why are a fair percentage of humans drawn to the hustle and bustle of big city living?
Could you not argue that this attraction is also natural?

Who are you, or anyone for that matter, to tell a large section of the populace that they are not meant to be living this way?

 

[blackg]

Every time a guy I know starts going bald his Facebook is usually instant ghost town. Little to no updates, profile pics that are years old, or a celebrity picture instead. It's uncanny.

Words of truth right here.

 

[Captain Rex]

Words of truth right here.

it's not about baldness in particular, but ugliness in general which the world hates.
if u r a still good looking guy after balding then don't worry u can live ur life happily but most of the time u end up being ugly.
that's the whole point DON'T BE UGLY.
and i don't think this norm has started only few years ago, this dates back to the dawn of civilisation. Kings were supposed to look like kings and an ugly guy can only be the slave and never be the king because he doesn't look like a king though he may have the qualities of a king.
what we now see is the hatred on a global scale.

 

[WMQ]

I swear someday I'm going to set up a commune in a forest and ban all mirrors and beauty products.

I think we can try becoming a legit Buddhist (uniformly shaved and living in a monastery society).

 

[Roberto_72]

I like how this thread is forming. The poster is a good addition to the bunch.

And yes, I agree 2007 (the year of the iPhone and the subsequent omnipresence of the "selfie") has steered our Western society to more vanity.

Perhaps the only upside of being balding is that you are not (mostly because you cannot) kidnapped by this image frenzy and can better analyze it.

Today I was in a bar and I saw a cute girl with a boy who was:
- shorter
- fatter
- a hat prisoner (I don't know if he was bald, but the temple point recession suggested it).

At the beginning I thought: "encouraging!" but then I reminded to myself that it had been one full month that I had not see a non-looksmatched young couple, at least in a big city.

 

[supersaiyannorwood6+]

5:20 "In Russia...no means yes, and yes means a***" lmaoo

 

[diffuse_thinner]

Social media has definitely contributed to the world becoming more vain and insecure. Everyday we are exposed to unattainable standards of beauty and perfection, not to mention the privileged lifestyles of others. I worry about the implications for civilization, as more people feel inadequate and unhappy about themselves.

 

[CopeForLife]

Social media has definitely contributed to the world becoming more vain and insecure. Everyday we are exposed to unattainable standards of beauty and perfection, not to mention the privileged lifestyles of others. I worry about the implications for civilization, as more people feel inadequate and unhappy about themselves.

these standards are totally attainable if u were born with proper genetics

just maintain basic hygiene, do not buy retarded clothes and have a good barber

that's all

 

[FootyStar]

And one of my colleagues said about me: "Maybe WhitePolarBear it was because he has a shaved head and a goatee (I have a goatee?!) and it makes him look aggressive?"
...
Some employers that invited me told me I looked "trustworthy" on my picture. No one is going to tell you to your face: "Yeah we don't want our employees to look like skinheads so that's why we turned you down."

I can relate to the comments so much.

When I recently went to my 10 year high school reunion, one of the people I used to get along really well with said: "Geez why did you shave your hair off FS? You look so scary and intimidating now, like a thug". The people next to him silently nodded in agreement. This is despite me still having a lean frame, a baby face and smiling all the time.

What a difference hair makes.

 

[CopeForLife]

Minimum requirements for functional male.

Those what nature gives to you:
1. average face (pre NW2 included)
2. 5'9+ height with average frame
3. NT – having a few social networks with a 100-300 friends in each, group of NT friends IRL and reddit account

Those you need to achieve:
4. do not be fat
5. some sport with physical activity like football, basketball and etc, minor gymcelling is acceptable
6. proper hygiene
7. a little above average salary payed job

Everything under 4-7 is pointless if you failed in at least one under 1-3 (although you can fail in NT but you must have very good face).

 

[Eren]

I can relate to the comments so much.

When I recently went to my 10 year high school reunion, one of the people I used to get along really well with said: "Geez why did you shave your hair off FS? You look so scary and intimidating now, like a thug". The people next to him silently nodded in agreement. This is despite me still having a lean frame, a baby face and smiling all the time.

What a difference hair makes.

It always amazes me how ugly even the best looking guys can be without hair. Take Pique, 8+/10 (any rating less than this is coping).

And now bald

Imagine him without that 5 o'clock shade. Absolutely horrible (just my opinion). Luckily for him, he won't ever lose his hair.

 

[JohnsonDDG]

It always amazes me how ugly even the best looking guys can be without hair. Take Pique, 8+/10 (any rating less than this is coping).

And now bald

Imagine him without that 5 o'clock shade. Absolutely horrible (just my opinion). Luckily for him, he won't ever lose his hair.

Probably 7.5 down to a 6. If you put the chap in a suit or something then he would look okay'ish.