The world has become more unfair over the last two decades. People were always treated differently based on their looks. But now technology has raised the bar and gives people false illusions and reasons to spend their money in the pursuit of the uncatchable. Starting with a simple truth, most people are at their physical peak in their late teens and early twenties. After that, it’s all downhill as age creeps on towards the inevitable end. In school and college, there’s always been bullying based on appearance. What makes this worst for the modern generations is the arrival of photoshop and the other pieces of software that allow images to be manipulated. For the teens in school, there’s the chance to take pictures using cell phones and exaggerate the differences. What appears on Facebook and other social networking sites can be very cruel. In a parallel world, we’re surrounded by images of celebrities airbrushed into perfection. Except, that is, for the gossip magazines that pay paparazzi to capture the same celebrities in their off-moments when, horror of horrors, they look just like the rest of humanity with bulging bits of body and wrinkles.

It’s probably worst for the women. There are so many jobs that rely on them having perfect looks. It’s almost as if they are not allowed to show any sign of aging if they want to keep their jobs or get promoted. That’s why there are so many billions at stake in the cosmetics industry for powders and creams to cover up skin problems. When cosmetics fail, there’s Botox and cosmetic surgery. What makes all this so alarming are the number of teens who are so unhappy with their bodies, their parents are paying for surgery.

» Read more: Propecia and the culture of beauty