Saratoga middle school student is a winner in Be-You-tiful contest

Redwood Middle School eighth-grader Claire Kwon is among the winners of this year’s Be-You-tiful contest, sponsored by the Campbell-based Eating Disorders Resource Center (EDRC). The annual contest asked Bay Area middle and high school students to share their thoughts on how social media affects body image and overall well being.

In her painting, which took first place in the middle school art category, Claire uses roses to express the negative effects social media can have on an individual.

“The roses represent people today,” she wrote in her artist’s statement. “The rose with the phone appears to be unhealthy and dried up. The dried-up rose is also trapped in the bottle, as the bottle has a cork.

“Like the roses, someone who spends too much time on their phone in a way that they get addicted or ‘trapped’ can suffer from drastic consequences,” Claire continued. “Our phones can expose us to different apps, which includes social media. Excessive social media and scrolling can lead one  to compare themselves to other people’s lives, and it can affect how a person sees or perceives ideas and things.”

These perceptions include the “perfect body image,” she added.

“It may lead one to think that they are not attractive enough. … I believe that many people can improve their lives and find more productive activities to pursue if they, at least, take a small break from their phones and not become the dried-up rose. I personally feel much better when I spend less time on my devices. I can spend more time to work on meaningful and personal activities, such as art or drawing.”

First-, second- and third-place winners in the Be-You-tiful contest’s various categories won $300, $200 and $100, respectively.