Responses Paper: Impression Management, Techniques

1. Read topic: Using the interactionist perspective, answer the following questions:
1. What techniques do people use to appear older or younger than their years? (e.g. hair coloring, growing a moustache, etc.)
2. Why do people use these methods of impression management? How effective are they?
3. Do you use any techniques to manage the impression people have of your age? If so, describe some of these techniques. When and why do you use them?
4. Consider what people do when a person's impression management has failed (e.g., a toupee has slipped out of line or someone's hair color looks too obviously fake)?
2. Read my response: 
Techniques
There techniques, which people use to appear older or younger than their years, include skin lightening which decrease the melanin pigment in the skin. Skin lightening is used in removing age spots and make people appear younger. Other techniques include Botox, which removes wrinkles by short-term relaxing of muscles. Botox make people appear young. Facial plastic can also be used to remove wrinkles and make people appear young. On the other hand, wearing glasses can make people appear a little bit older. In addition, coloring of black hair grey color and growing a mustache makes people appear older.
Impression management
People, especially celebrities use skin lightening, Botox and facial plastic surgery to appear young. People perceive a superstar celebrity as someone younger and beautiful or handsome. Some of the techniques used such as Botox are effective in making people younger than their years. On the other hand, people can grow mustache to appear older. The growing of mustache helps people to be given respect as they are regarded as aged people.
Techniques used
There are times, which necessitate use of techniques to appear younger or older. In my own experience I have used growing of mustache and coloring of hair technique to appear older. The usage of technique was due to an aged man role I was playing in a drama. The use of the techniques helped in defining the character I was playing.
Failure of person’s impression
There are times when usage of a technique fails to make people appear either young or older than their years. For instance, people using methods such as Botox and plastic surgery to appear younger, but instead makes them appear older and ugly feel regretful of their decisions. Such people may consider doing constructive surgery to correct the problem.
3. Read both peers response to topic and tell what you agree with, like, if you have any questions ask them. Keeping in mind of my posts, so were on the same side per say. There are 2 separate post so keep them separate. 
peer Post 1: In order to appear older, many girls/women will wear heels to appear taller as well as wear heavier make up and men will grow facial hair. To appear younger, women will do things like use botox or facial surgery to get rid of wrinkles, while men will shave to have a “baby face” look. People use these methods of impression management to manage the way that people and society as a whole view them and at some level, make themselves feel the best they can. These techniques are more effective for some people than others. I think moderation plays a huge role in contributing to looking the desired age because otherwise people can see through “work” being overdone. I know for myself, I am on the shorter side, therefore I will often times wear heels to make myself appear taller. Unfortunately, this does seem to matter at work because it makes me look older and in return, people take me more seriously. In the moments where impression management has failed I think others often feel sorry for that person for feeling like they had to work harder to appear to be a certain age or different stage of life than what they truly are. I think people also identify with the urge to manage how they look to meet societal expectations, therefore show compassion.
peer post 2: In an effort to appear older a guy may change his wardrobe, hair style and grow out his facial hair. For a woman in the same scenario, she may wear high heels or clothing that that is more form fitting to appear older. When men want to appear younger they may shave their face, color their hair, change their wardrobe or get some sort of medical treatment such as botox. Women who want to appear young may do the same things, color their hair, have surgical alterations or change their wardrobe.
I think people use these methods of impression management to make themselves feel better, as well as to impress the people around them. I think these methods work great in small doses, but when people do to much it's very obvious and makes them look silly rather than younger.
I currently don't use any type of impression management methods but I think I definitely will in the future. I dont think that I will do anything over the top, but if my hair turns grey in my early 30s I'm definitely getting it colored.
I'm not really sure what people do when their impression management fails, I assume it would be pretty embarrassing. However, I think people who take impression management measures often care a lot about their appearance and probably would not go out in public with something that they did not think looked good.