Lubbock Ranks High In Beauty Obsession

Lubbock’s high rating could have something to do with the three universities and large population of young, tech-savvy students

Lubbock in your rear view … or bathroom.

Mirror that is.

Lubbock is home to the legendary Buddy Holly, relentless dust storms and now … beauty-obsessed women.

That’s right … beauty obsessed.

InStyle magazine teamed up with FourSquare to bring their users a ranking of the 10 most beauty-obsessed cities in America. FourSquare is a social media network that lets you tell friends and family where you are by documenting your whereabouts through “check ins” at those places.

FourSquare tallied data from its 15 million users to find out which city’s users are checking into the most beauty stores like Ulta or Sephora.

Lubbock ranks number two on the beauty-obsessed city list, ahead of New York City, San Francisco and even Las Vegas. Second only to Fresno, Calif., which boasts five beauty schools and multiple beauty retailers, the question could be posed … why Lubbock?

Lubbock radio station Blake FM even calls the ranking “weird.” On the station’s web site, Kidd Manning wrote, “What is it about Lubbock, Texas, that would make it the number two most beauty-obsessed city in the nation?”

Devin Schubbe, a junior advertising major at Texas Tech, said while it may surprise others, she knows exactly why Lubbock is so vain.

“I’m sure it has a lot to do with the college crowd,” Schubbe said. “FourSquare, just like a lot of social media sites, is focused on a younger demographic and Lubbock has that demographic.”

According to uncertified enrollment numbers, Texas Tech reported 32,327 students in Fall 2011.  Of those enrolled 29,058 were Texas residents and that’s where Schubbe, a Dallas-area native, said the beauty-obsession comes from.

“Lots of the girls here at Tech are from Houston, Dallas, Austin, image-conscious places,” Schubbe said. “That’s just how we grew up.”

But Dr. Jeff Larsen, an associate professor in Tech’s psychology department, said the beauty obsession isn’t as harmless as it seems. “I can’t imagine how it’s a good thing,” Dr. Larsen said, “particularly if it leads to unhealthy behaviors such as eating disorders and sun tanning.” And what’s concerning are the girls, like Schubbe said, who just grew up that way. “Our personalities become crystallized in our mid-twenties,” Dr. Larsen said. “So people obsessed with beauty then are presumably likely to be obsessed with beauty later.”

So whether you think it’s just a fun polling or a serious social problem, one thing is clear…

Lubbock is beauty-obsessed.

Well, at least according to FourSquare.

by Olivia Dickinson
Contributed to The Hub by Jour 4350 and TexasTechToday.com 

 

About Olivia Dickinson