Recent years have seen a trend in which teenagers post videos of themselves, asking viewers if they are “good looking” or “ugly”. This clip was one of the first to gain popular media attention, getting numerous comments and being picked up on mainstream news shows. An article in the Huffington Post described that, “The sheer number of these videos, and how regularly their creators reference other ones, suggests that a virtual community has formed around the concept.”
discussion
Why do you think a “virtual community” has formed around the idea of the “Am I ugly?” videos? Why would someone upload a video like this? Why would someone comment — negatively or positively?
How do we as a society define “beauty”? How do you define it?