In a surprising turn of events, a woman’s innocent question on TikTok sparked a heated discussion about age, beauty, and social media. Emily Jane, a 36-year-old woman, posted a video asking viewers to guess her age. The responses she received were shocking, ranging from 40 to 60 years old.
Emily was taken aback by the wide range of guesses, with some people thinking she was nearly retirement age. She asked in a follow-up video, “Do I genuinely look like I’m nearly 60? Like I’m nearly at retirement age? Do I actually look that old?” The question sparked a lively debate about how social media has conditioned us to view women and age.
Emily revealed that she had stopped dyeing her naturally grey hair, which she believed contributed to people’s misconception about her age. She started going grey at 19 and felt that her natural hair color was being misinterpreted as a sign of old age. Emily also pointed out that she had no makeup or filters on in the video, which might have led people to guess her age incorrectly.
The discussion sparked by Emily’s video raises important questions about how social media shapes our perception of beauty and age. Emily theorized that people’s guesses about her age were influenced by the unrealistic beauty standards promoted on social media. She argued that the constant exposure to filtered and photoshopped images has distorted our understanding of what women look like at different ages.
While some people agreed with Emily’s perspective, others attributed her perceived older age to her grey hair. One commenter wrote, “36 going on 60. It probably is the hair that ages you, but you are still very gorgeous.” Another person added, “I think you look your age. I think it’s people’s perception that we only get white hair when we age. They can’t get past it.”
The debate sparked by Emily’s video is a timely reminder of the impact of social media on our self-perception and our understanding of beauty. As Emily herself said, “What you see on social media and what you see on television or what you’ve seen in magazines, and people have said this for years, it is not real.”
