Those women were essentially sending themselves to a stranger for validation, they are putting their self-worth into the mouth of this man. But, what these women perhaps do not know is; any stranger, or even a person you know, can tell you you're beautiful, but it will never mean as much as you telling yourself you are beautiful.
The only person's opinion that will truly ever matter is your own. How many compliments have you received and actually accepted at face value? What you tell yourself in the mirror matters much more than any comment on a screen. You have spent your whole life with yourself, and if you like it or not you will continue to do so. So, love yourself now because you will save yourself some trouble in the future. Know your self-worth.
I wish those years back, I could read this. I wish young Lauren was as self-aware as I am now. She was naive and so obsessed with other people accepting her, admittedly that is somewhat a little true today, but I like to think I've picked up a thing or two.