62 Percent of Women Think They’re Prettier Than Their Best Friend
Every woman should think she’s pretty. After all, if you don’t toot your own horn, who will? But new research found that most of us don’t need to be convinced of our own hotness: We already think we’re prettier than our best friends.
According to a survey of 3,306 people from Skout, a mobile app for meeting new people, 62 percent of women think they’re more attractive than their best friend. And apparently we get more confident in our looks as we age. The survey also discovered that 40-somethings have the most confidence, with 64 percent saying they’re better-looking than their BFF.
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We can’t tell if this is a good or bad thing. One the one hand, self-confidence! On the other, statistically speaking, we can’t all be prettier than our best friends.
What gives? It’s all about perception, says Kelly Tonelli, Psy.D., a licensed clinical psychologist practicing in Irvine, California. She says we typically see our friends as they really are but have a skewed perception of our own appearance.
Why? It’s because we probably formed an idea about our looks a while ago. As a result, we may think we look younger, fitter, and more attractive than we actually are because we created those self-image perspectives at a time when we probably were.
It’s why we’re often surprised at how we look in photos, says Tonelli. Overall, we mentally focus on the good stuff about our appearance and are surprised when we see the reality doesn’t quite match up with our own possibly out-of-date perception of ourselves.
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But while perception doesn’t always match up with reality, Tonelli says it’s not a bad thing: “This can be great for our self-confidence,†she says. However, she points out that we can get a reality check at some point through photos or feedback from others, which can be jarring.
And of course, there’s the whole thing about your BFF thinking she’s more attractive than you (which we all know isn’t true).
Worth noting: Men tend to think a little differently about their appearance compared to that of their best friend. The survey found that just 52 percent of men say they’re better looking than their bestie, which suggests their feelings on this might be more in line with reality.
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Of course, it’s not a competition. Both you and your best friend are gorgeous in your own way. And when you can celebrate the beautiful things about each other, you both win.
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