Why do people care so much about how they look?

Why do people care so much about how they look?

Because other people care about the way they look...

whether you admit it or not most people judge others based on their looks (not just physical appearance but clothing etc...) and there is such a thing as a halo effect (beautiful people are thought to be smarter, nicer, etc...) which has been researched in psychology...

Like it or not most people form first impressions based on the way others look

becuase they see what other people look like and then they wish to look the same way

I do it to ill be at home getting ready for school and I feel pretty and skinny but when I go to school my esteem goes way down

because image is the first thing you notice about anything
for example would you eat any that looked like fresh sh*t, even though it wasn't and in reality it was delicious?

but you wouldn't know that because you judged it by it's image
maybe that's why people care so much about how they look, they dont want to be judged or unliked by anyone

thats true, image is the first thing you notice about anyone you meet, unless you meet them on the internet, thats the only way soemtiems to know the personality before the looks.
some people are obsessed, some people don't give a flying fig abouttheir looks, but nearly all of us are proud and try ot look nice for ourselves and the views of others, it might be an automatic thing, everyone just does it,
erin
x

Because the way you look represents who you are.(or at least is supposed to)
It also can send a message.
People base how someone looks, by who they are inside.

Its human nature. Although its not always a good thiing.

I think people who are obsessed over their appearance are worried because they know they don't have anything else going for them, so they have to at least have that.

because of our society. the constant uproar in staying beautiful, when that is not truly beautiful. we want to be something we are not, and america is the perfect place for that. we are chameleons to those who hold power, personally I do not want to look like paris hilton or LC but, we as a public have OCD with being pretty. also, sex sells. guys aren't going to buy a magazine with a picture of sweaters with kittens on it, they are going to buy a magazine with pictures of bras and thongs. same with women, they would rather buy or look at a picture of john cena with his shirt off all oiled up, rather than there fat, balding gork of a husband. the truth is sad, but so is this growing epidemic. beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but in this case, there is no beholder, just a mass of following robots and clones of Chanel and Dolche and Gabana.

you make 30 ausmptions of a person within the first 10 seconds of meeting them. Humans are born naturally this way kind of like animals. We judge on apperence to find the best mate and therefore thats why we come off as caring about our looks it's something we are born with it's our instincts to care about apperence

People just compare themselves a lot to other people and it makes them feel low about themselves and they feel the need to look better.

yeah basically what everyone else said but also because when we look good, we feel good (as in confidence)