I agree with you
You wrote the way I felt about this chapter so clearly, thank you! I also agree that kids these days are so much more vulnerable to beauty standards. Somedays I feel a little sorry for them to be so heavily influenced by such things at a young age. I've seen kids not even 12 yet worrying about their weight and their skin and how good they want to look. It's a tragedy to see them so involved in such superficial things at their developmental age. Sometimes I wish this capitalistic marketing technique of making money through crazy beauty standards would just end so kids can stay kids for just a while longer.
Ah! This chapter, hmmm. Both Takayanagi-sensei and the student's perspectives are something I am very familiar with. Although I am not as pessimistic about my looks as the girl, I did think people who are prettier have it a bit easier when I was at that age. When I was a teen, my acne was so bad, they were not the normal type anymore. I always hated looking at my face in the mirror. I would say I had a pretty headstrong mentality back then, but I still wanted to rip my skin off my face from time to time, especially when the acne decided to sit on the tip of my nose. That was so annoying. Thankfully, social media was not as big as now back then. The vanity has been exacerbated so bad nowadays because of it. Beauty has always been a tricky thing. Humans have always strived and search for beauty ever since. We are always drawn to it. Back then, someone's perspective on it is limited to what they see around them. But now that social media is as wide as ever, teenagers are the most vulnerable. They are constantly exposed to these ads and promotions, products that are endorsed as if it's normal to have it or played off as "obviously, it's a normal part of life, so get this!" Since the girl is always watching videos related to cosmetic surgeries, she will be recommended more of those videos and it will constantly plague her mind. Haaa... Hopefully time will come and she will have a better understanding. But oh well, i just woke up and it's not even 8 am in my country. Whatever i wanna sleep more but i still have work... Ahhh ahhh