The power of doves' "Toxic Influence" campaign

Doves latest campaign, “Toxic Influence,” is a powerful call to action surrounding self-esteem and unrealistic body images that are often found as the beauty standard on social media - showing the impact this can have on people. Through this campaign, Dove is sending a message by having mothers and their daughters confronting toxic beauty advice on social media and how it has become standard for many women and girls all around the world.

Watch Doves latest campaign here

Social media and self-esteem: Doves perspective

Doves latest campaign is powerful and unfortunately highly relevant. With so many women and girls struggling with self-esteem issues, it is critical that we combat the unrealistic standards found on social media. Through its “Toxic Influence” campaign, Dove shows how different the harmful messages these influencers push sound out of the mouths of these girls parents.

The commercial features daughters watching influencers promoting impossible standards for beauty, such as “lip filler kits let you inject yourself from home” and “remember skinny is never finished” and instead having mothers say these same lines to their daughters. The devastating message is clear: these are the toxic things that social media is telling our girls, and we need to do something about it.

In today's society self-esteem has become a real issue for many people, but especially for women and girls. We are constantly bombarded with advice from influencers and celebrities about how we should look, what we should be eating, and what new products we need to buy in order to achieve the “perfect” body. It's no wonder that so many of us are struggling with self-esteem issues.

This is where Dove's "Toxic Influence" campaign comes in. By calling out the harmful messages that social media is sending to our girls, they are hoping to encourage parents to have more open and honest conversations with their daughters about self-esteem.

Influencers - how harmful can they be when it comes to beauty ideals

The beauty ideal promoted by influencers on social media is unrealistic and damaging. These influencers promote products that promise to make us skinnier or prettier, when in reality what we really need is self-acceptance and self-love. Many of these influencers have a following where the majority are young people, yet are pushing an ideal that is unattainable. From 'advice' that includes filing down your teeth with a nail file to make them look straighter, to lip filler kits that let you inject yourself at home, the message is clear: there is always something wrong with the way we look, and we need to fix it.

Ultimately, we have the power to change how self-esteem is perceived by our girls. By educating ourselves on how harmful social media can be, and encouraging open and honest conversations.

Luckily this isn't all influencers. There are some who focus on self-love and self-care. These influencers provide a much-needed breath of fresh air in a world full of photoshop and filters. They help young people to remember that there is no such thing as perfect, and that we should all be celebrating our own unique beauty. Body positive influencers are out their who are helping to change the way we think about beauty and showing that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.

What can parents do?

The first step is becoming more aware of the messages that social media is sending to our girls. We need to be having open and honest conversations with our daughters about self-esteem, and encouraging them to find their own unique sense of self-worth. It's important that we provide them with a positive role model when it comes to self-esteem, so that they can see that it is possible to love and accept yourself just the way you are.

In addition to this, there are also many resources available online that provide practical tips on self-esteem. For example, sites like www.mindful.org offer advice on self-esteem, self-worth and self-care (like in this great article)

By taking these steps, we can empower the next generation to be confident, self-accepting, and self-loving.

What can be done to help solve this problem?

Fortunately, there are things that can be done to help combat the negative impact of social media on self-esteem. For starters, we can make sure that we are following positive and realistic accounts that promote self-love and body positivity. We can also take a break from social media if it is starting to have a negative impact on our mental health. Additionally, we can talk to our daughters about self-esteem and body image in order to help them develop a healthy perspective.

Dove's "Toxic Influence" campaign is an important step in the right direction, and we hope that it will help to start a conversation about self-esteem and body image. Let's make sure that we are doing our part to promote positive self-image and self-love in our communities!