Ejercicio A1 · Inglés PAU Valencia Extraordinaria 2022

TEXT A / TEXTO A

IS THAT REALLY ME? THE UGLY TRUTH ABOUT BEAUTY FILTERS

Mia started using filters when one of her TikTok videos unexpectedly went viral and her audience suddenly skyrocketed. “At that point, I was around 100kg, so it was really scary for me to have people looking at me,” she says. As her video clocked up more than 1m views, abusive comments started pouring in. “I was getting a lot of hate,” she says, adding: “The filters on TikTok are so smooth and flawless – they don’t look like a filter. So it felt so easy to use them, just to make me feel a little better… but honestly, it doesn’t even look like me.”

“Social media is promoting a beauty ideal that’s not attainable because nobody looks like that … and that’s where the harm can come from,” Dr Jasmine Fardouly, a body image expert, says. “Body dissatisfaction is an important predictor for eating disorders, and for depression and low self-esteem… There is also a link to increased interest in cosmetic surgery.”

Fardouly says social media companies should not be held solely responsible for the harm caused by unattainable beauty standards. “It’s kind of human nature… A lot of the problems with the platforms come from people’s desires and motivations offline as well. People have always wanted to present themselves positively to others; that’s not new. It’s just that social media really gives us the tools to control how we appear, and to spend a lot of time investing in our self-presentation – and that’s where the harm can come from.”

Adapted from an article by Matilda Boseley, The Guardian, 1-6-2022

A1. Answer the following questions using your own words but taking into account the information in the text. (2 points: 1 point each)

a.

Why did Mia start using filters on her TikTok videos?

b.

Why is the ideal of beauty promoted by social media damaging?