A fitness influencer, aged 25, has been subjected to constant bullying because she appears "super old." Summer Vennewitz, a social media celebrity, is well-known for always being honest about her appearance, as per a report in the New York Post.
The 25-year-old chooses to display her insecurities rather than cover them up with filters to normalize what "real faces'' look like. The woman said that she is a "female who has never gotten Botox, filler, or lips" in a recent video that has received nearly eight million views.
However, several people in the comments shamed her for "looking old" and said that they are scared to "get wrinkles like that." Some urged her to "start using sunscreen" and that she appeared to be "at least 20 years old."
"You look 45," said a user. "I'm 36 and I don't look like this," another said. A person also commented, "If this were me I'd cry. Please use retinol girl and spf."
Others rushed to her defence, praising her for being "real". They also condemned the remarks and outright insults she was subjected to.
"This girl is trying to do a nice thing and show people that you don't have to be ashamed of ageing," a person wrote. Another said, "Y'all have serious problems."
"You're absolutely gorgeous!!!!! People project their own insecurities onto other people who seem to be doing better than they are. Misery loves company," remarked a user.
According to psychologist Carly Dober, the popularity of anti-ageing procedures like Botox and the increase in people using editing tools and filters before uploading anything online are probably to blame for this kind of response. She clarified that this has seriously distorted people's perceptions of what real people look like in the outside world. "I think the popularity of wrinkle reduction and anti-ageing treatments mean that many people are engaging in beauty treatments that minimize wrinkles, so seeing them on social media is uncommon," she told News.com.au.
She said people have forgotten what ageing looks like because they have been conditioned by the beauty industry to see it as a bad thing. She continued, "It's actually expected for people to have wrinkles when they move their faces, and for older people to have more of these wrinkles. But we have been conditioned by the beauty and beauty modification industry to see this as a negative or shameful thing."
"Normal ageing is often shrouded in secrecy and very taboo in the West, and not many people, especially women, would show this due to feeling the need to perform staying 'youthful,'" she said.
Ms Dober concluded, "Sometimes this will also be performed with the aid of social media filters. People age differently due to a variety of reasons including genetics and lifestyle factors, and so when people show the diversity in visible ageing signs, many people think about the limited examples of ageing they see."
