“The internet’s expectations of teenage girls has shown to have detrimental effects for teens’ mental health. But what is happening, and why is it a problem?“ - June Price, 7th grade
Whether through memes, videos, or underlying criticism, Societal expectations of teenage girls has shown to have detrimental effects for their mental health.
Bella Schainker, an eighth grader at Oakland School for the Arts, said “[Being criticized] feels very isolating. It made me feel guilty for liking what I liked, so I started to question myself. My confidence goes away.”
“My brain immediately tells me to agree with them because if you don’t, they won’t like you anymore,” said Cb Omand, a sixth grader at OSA.
Additionally, a 2015 study showed that teens feeling rejected by peers were more likely to self harm. Queer people are even more prone to self-injury, with bisexual people up to six times more likely to self harm than heterosexual individuals.
Schainker added that “[Social media] puts these ideas in your head about who you should be, and if you don’t fit that, you try to change yourself, you try to define yourself through other people, which makes you have a warped sense of self.”
Amanda Farmer is a middle school teacher who grew up in Northern California in the 1990s, and sees these effects on her students. “Young people see celebrities showing off on their Instagram, so they feel a lot of pressure to live a life and be a person worthy of what they see on social media,” said Farmer. “Social media is made up of super exaggerated extremes of positivity and negativity. Social media is dangerous because it doesn’t have shades of gray, it gives people unrealistic expectations.”
Holly Young, an eighth grader at OSA, said “I see the idea of who you should be [on social media], even though I don’t follow the Kardashians or anything. The beauty standards aren’t just [through models], they’re everywhere.”
“I think I have fear around being unlikeable. I mean, I unwittingly care about what people think about me. Even if I totally dislike that person, I still feel like I have to be liked,” said Young.
In a 2021 study, research showed less than 9% of 14 year old girls are completely happy with their appearance. The same study showed almost half of girls who spend more than five hours a day on social media show symptoms of depression.
Katy Stephan is a professional singer who grew up in 1980s San Leandro. “I’ve arranged my personal appearance to avoid being criticized,” she said. “People are just so eager to tell you what to wear.”
An article from Do Something showed nearly half of high school girls are trying to lose weight. It also showed 75% of girls with low self-esteem reported cutting themselves, bullying, smoking, drinking, or disordered eating.
Overall, it seems the pressure we put on women and girls is more harmful and widespread than people initially realized. By encouraging and educating teens, we can raise a generation free to be themselves.
Sources:
Thanks to Holly Young, Amanda Farmer, Olu Thomas, Maya Mastropasqua, Cb Omand, Bella Schainker, and Katy Stephan.
Photo credit: Unsplash
https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-teens-and-self-esteem
https://epi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/EPI-PT_Young-people’s-wellbeing_Jan2021.pdf
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/bisexual-people-up-to-six-times-more-likely-to-self-injure/
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10826-015-0138-2
Bella Schainker, an eighth grader at Oakland School for the Arts, said “[Being criticized] feels very isolating. It made me feel guilty for liking what I liked, so I started to question myself. My confidence goes away.”
“My brain immediately tells me to agree with them because if you don’t, they won’t like you anymore,” said Cb Omand, a sixth grader at OSA.
Additionally, a 2015 study showed that teens feeling rejected by peers were more likely to self harm. Queer people are even more prone to self-injury, with bisexual people up to six times more likely to self harm than heterosexual individuals.
Schainker added that “[Social media] puts these ideas in your head about who you should be, and if you don’t fit that, you try to change yourself, you try to define yourself through other people, which makes you have a warped sense of self.”
Amanda Farmer is a middle school teacher who grew up in Northern California in the 1990s, and sees these effects on her students. “Young people see celebrities showing off on their Instagram, so they feel a lot of pressure to live a life and be a person worthy of what they see on social media,” said Farmer. “Social media is made up of super exaggerated extremes of positivity and negativity. Social media is dangerous because it doesn’t have shades of gray, it gives people unrealistic expectations.”
Holly Young, an eighth grader at OSA, said “I see the idea of who you should be [on social media], even though I don’t follow the Kardashians or anything. The beauty standards aren’t just [through models], they’re everywhere.”
“I think I have fear around being unlikeable. I mean, I unwittingly care about what people think about me. Even if I totally dislike that person, I still feel like I have to be liked,” said Young.
In a 2021 study, research showed less than 9% of 14 year old girls are completely happy with their appearance. The same study showed almost half of girls who spend more than five hours a day on social media show symptoms of depression.
Katy Stephan is a professional singer who grew up in 1980s San Leandro. “I’ve arranged my personal appearance to avoid being criticized,” she said. “People are just so eager to tell you what to wear.”
An article from Do Something showed nearly half of high school girls are trying to lose weight. It also showed 75% of girls with low self-esteem reported cutting themselves, bullying, smoking, drinking, or disordered eating.
Overall, it seems the pressure we put on women and girls is more harmful and widespread than people initially realized. By encouraging and educating teens, we can raise a generation free to be themselves.
Sources:
Thanks to Holly Young, Amanda Farmer, Olu Thomas, Maya Mastropasqua, Cb Omand, Bella Schainker, and Katy Stephan.
Photo credit: Unsplash
https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-teens-and-self-esteem
https://epi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/EPI-PT_Young-people’s-wellbeing_Jan2021.pdf
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/bisexual-people-up-to-six-times-more-likely-to-self-injure/
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10826-015-0138-2