The Anxiety of Perfection

Daisy Jing, the influencer-turned-CEO of Banish -- a multinational skincare company focusing on acne, gives a talk about perfection where she discusses her struggles with acne that followed her into adulthood. She discusses the myriad of prescriptions and pills she took that promised her "perfection" but ultimately failed and made her acne worse.

Jing discusses the epidemic facing the youth today caused by social media. She quotes a recent study that states that younger generations spend, on average, 9 hours a day on social media seeing perfectly edited faces that don't reflect reality. She states: "the greatest tragedy of our generation is the neverending struggle for perfection" and discusses how this creates a perpetuating cycle of negativity. This cycle led the current generation of youth to have significantly higher rates of anxiety, depression, and stress than previous generations. Jing continues that the greatest tragedy she faced was not that she had imperfect skin but that she was consumed by this need for perfection, a complex she traces back to her time spent on social media. She missed out on monumental life events because she was too obsessed over having perfect skin.

This led Jing to begin opening up via YouTube about her struggles, where she found an amazing community of support. She eventually opened up her own line of cosmetics and found that social media has power, and this power can be used for good when people can share their authentic selves. She gives three tips to using social media for good: first, give yourself reflection and alone time; second, share something vulnerable on social media; and third, be brave and express yourself. Jing concludes that bravery can change our life for the better and that fulfillment in life comes from authenticity.