LSN : Daily Signals : Dove exposes the sameness driving algorithmic beauty

Dove exposes the sameness driving algorithmic beauty

The Beauty Machine, Dove, UK

UK – Dove called out the homogenising effect of algorithmic beauty standards with the installation The Beauty Machine. Set up at Waterloo Station in London, the pop-up installation mimicked the mechanics of a social media feed, appearing to offer variety while serving up the same unrealistic face on repeat.

The campaign drew on research by Dove showing that almost one in two women and girls in the UK feel pressured to change their appearance even when they know an image is digitally altered. As algorithm-driven aesthetics flatten beauty into a single, unreal ideal, individual difference becomes harder to see and more difficult to feel good about.

It was a move that spoke to the tensions mapped in our macrotrend The Great Beauty Blur, which tracks how digital culture is simultaneously expanding and narrowing definitions of beauty. ‘Our aim is for beauty to be individual and defined by women themselves, not how algorithms choose to amplify it,’ says Marcela Melero, chief growth marketing officer at Dove.

For deeper analysis, the on-demand webinar for The Great Beauty Blur is available now, featuring conversations with industry experts and cultural commentators.

Strategic opportunity

Exposing narrow beauty ideals is one powerful approach. Brands can also design campaigns that make audiences question those standards through distortion, theatrical visuals or subcultural references that reveal perfection as constructed

Foresight Friday: Alice Crossley, deputy foresight editor

Every Friday, we offer an end-of-week wrap-up of the topics, issues, ideas and virals we’re all talking about. This week, deputy foresight editor Alice Crossley explores how weddings, bridal culture and even divorce reflect shifting priorities, social status and economic pressures for young adults.

: I’ve been watching Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen on Netflix. The horror series follows a 20-something bride-to-be who has an unshakeable fear that – you guessed it – something bad is going to happen, an anxiety which grows more intense the closer she gets to the big day. Elsewhere, The Drama, a highly-anticipated film exploring an engaged couple whose wedding week unravels after an unexpected revelation arrives in UK cinemas this week. Weddings in popular culture are becoming a lens to explore contemporary anxieties.

: New life stages, delayed adulthood and the extortionate cost of weddings today are challenging traditional nuptials. Even if they do want to get married, oftentimes young people just can’t afford it or haven’t yet been able to navigate the minefields of modern dating to find someone worth marrying.

: In fashion, however, Modern Marriage is still considered chic. In recent weeks, model/‘IT-girl’ Gabriette – fiancé of 1975 frontman Matty Healy – fronted Jimmy Choo’s latest bridal campaign and London fashion brands Fruity Booty and Hai teamed up to launch a bridal collection. In the age of Instagram, marriage is becoming a social privilege and status signal.

: At the same time, American fashion brand Reformation released a ‘divorce’ collection, fronted by celebrity lawyer Laura Wasser, signalling a cultural shift towards perceptions of divorce, too. More on this soon...

Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, Netflix, US

Quote of the week

‘We’re interested in the full lifecycle of modern love – dating, partnership, rupture and reinvention’

Lauren Caris Cohan, chief creative officer, Reformation (source: The Standard)

Stat: Teens feel greater pressure to be online than to smoke or drink

Photography by Ekaterina Bolovtsova, Global

US – A new survey suggests peer pressure has shifted from traditional vices to social media. Of the 2,000 US children aged 11–17 surveyed, 44% reported feeling pressured to be online, compared with 31% for smoking or vaping, 28% for skipping class and 24% for drinking alcohol.

TikTok, Instagram and Facebook topped the list of platforms where pressure is felt, with 44%, 39% and 37% of respondents respectively citing them. Over half (56%) said they had felt left out for not being in the same online groups as friends, while 36% frequently worried about likes, comments or reactions.

Dr Scott Kollins, chief medical officer at Aura, said, ‘Over-connection triggers real-life stressors that show up beyond the screens, and it’s important for families to understand the signs before digital addiction takes over.’

The study also found heavy online use can affect sleep, meals and stress levels, highlighting social media’s growing impact on teen wellbeing.

Read our Teens, Tech and Tapping Out report, which examines how the teen mental health crisis and the addictive nature of social media are inspiring a grassroots movement of activist parents who are looking to change their children’s relationships with their smartphones.

Strategic opportunity

Develop digital wellbeing and family engagement tools that help teens manage screen time, reduce social media stress and encourage parent-child conversations