Growing up is hard. So hard. I really really wouldn’t want to be a teenager again. But when Dove Self Esteem Project challenged me to take on the social media routines from the 13-23 age group for one full day to gain insight into the #NoLikesNeededsocial media habits and highlight the pressures our children face I couldn’t say no. It is something that worries me, a lot. I have four children who use social media on a daily basis.

With Instagram, Twitter and  Facebook all open on my laptop and what’s app on my phone I was connected to the world all day, no chance of me missing anything. Never mind that everytime my lap top pinged I stopped what I was doing (deadlines, deadlines..) to check what the latest piece of information was about. Needless to say I have been running around like a headless chicken trying to catch up this morning. I have no idea how any revision or homework gets done under these circumstances.

Dove Self Esteem Project- fact 1

The Dove Self-Esteen Project (DESP) was started in 2004 as a way to help young girls reach their self-esteem and realise their full potential. DESP is the sponsor of Women in the World, a global summit that brings together extraordinary female leaders and change-makers to help increase body confidence and self-esteem in young people. This year, Women in the World London is taking place on Oct 8 and 9 in London, at Cadogan Hall.

Dove Self Esteem Project -fact 2

At the Summit, Dove is kicking off the new #NoLikesNeeded campaign to show girls that, while today’s socially driven landscape can amplify beauty-related anxieties, the only ‘like’ that counts is their own.

Followers on my Instagram, Twitter and Facebook feeds may have been surprised to see a few photos of me, something I sadly don’t feel too comfortable doing. I was encouraged to use hashtags to basically beg for likes on my photos.

This made me feel…

  • vulnerable
  • open to ridicule
  • self-conscious
  • obsessive about how many likes I was or wasn’t getting

I considered taking my photo down when I didn’t have many likes, worried that I looked stupid, or really awful.

I’ve seen my daughters’ friends tag their photos with hashtags such as ‘sxxy’ and ‘bxxbs’ whilst in skimpy bikinis all in the name of  ‘likes’. It’s scary that the need for recognition is so great. On average girls are posting 7 photos of themselves on Instagram a week.

On average, girls spend more than 12 minutes preparing for a photo before they take the one they want to post. That’s what I did yesterday, wasted precious time preparing for my photo. I took about ten photos before I was marginally happy to post the one below. On average girls take 9 photos before having one they are happy to post.

 Doves Self Esteem Project- fact 4
The #NoLikesNeeded campaign by Dove is a really easy way to spread positivity and helps to turn social media into a space that encourages beauty as a source of confidence, not anxiety.
Dove Self Esteem Project - fact 5
I wasn’t allowed to hug my family all day unless I could get 50 likes on one of my photos. Why?
Dove Self Esteem Project - fact 6
This makes me want to cry…I can’t even say the words. Needless to say I tried pimping for likes with a cute photo of my dog. I didn’t get them. I nearly tried waffles as a last resort but had been so busy checking my facebook, instagram feed, twitter etc that before I knew it was midnight and any attempt then would probably be futile and my children were asleep in bed anyway! No hugs for me then yesterday. I could have gone to bed feeling totally crap about myself last night, but luckily I like myself a bit more than that.
This cute face didn’t get 50 likes!

The Dove Self Esteem Project is a great resource for parents, mentors and teachers, their educational tools which are proven to boost self-esteem and increase body confidence in young people can be downloaded here.

This is a sponsored post, but all opinions are my own on this very important issue.

 

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2 thoughts on “The Only Person Who Needs to Like You, is You

  1. Very true, you look beautiful lovely x

    Posted on October 9, 2015 at 10:05 pm
    1. Too kind, but thank you Susan xxx

      Posted on October 20, 2015 at 8:49 pm