The Hidden Dangers of Social Media for Girls
Recently, the CDC released its partial study of its bi-annual Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which included extremely alarming statistics about the mental health of young girls and teens.
Most teen girls (57%) now say that they experience persistent sadness or hopelessness (up from 36% in 2011), and 30% of teen girls now say that they have seriously considered suicide (up from 19% in 2011). Surprisingly, among the overall data, COVID didn’t seem to play much of a part in affecting these numbers.
Following the CDC’s release of their survey, many articles were written (including this one from the NYT), citing social media as the culprit of higher numbers of mental health challenges among young people. But most young people, despite their gender identity, have equal access to social media, so why are the numbers for teen girls so much higher than they are for boys?
Social media offers parents, caregivers, and community members many causes for concern. From the dangers of listing personal information and exact locations, to bullying and soliciting unwanted and inappropriate sexual activity, there’s a plethora of problems to choose from. One hidden danger that often goes unnoticed, and can be particularly problematic for girls is the rampant objectification of girls and women in social media.
The definition of objectification is: “the action of degrading someone to the status of a mere object”. Where can we see girls and women being reduced to a collection of body parts, fitness regimes, meals, diets, outfits, makeup routines, and hair styles? Social media.
This objectification on social media is sneaky though; it comes in the form of celebrities endorsing their favorite juices, shakes, and skinny teas, or teen fashion influencers modeling popular clothes while their friends ooh and ahh, telling them how great they look. Girls see this, and think it’s not only normal, but admirable. And objectification quickly leads to self-objectification, when individuals start to reduce themselves to how they look, what they eat, how often they workout. Much research has been done that links self-objectification to mental health outcomes such as depression, disordered eating, and reduced attention and focus.
In short: the more time girls and teens spend on social media, the more they objectify other girls and teens, and the more they self-objectify themselves. It’s a vicious cycle, and it all leads to a decline in mental health, and an increase in feeling less than, as they struggle to achieve expectations that are ever changing and completely subjective. When the standards girls and teens see for themselves are a constantly moving target, it’s easy to feel hopeless and sad.
So what can we do?
Reversing or reducing these statistics feels like an overwhelming job, but we can start by addressing these concerns with the girls, teens, and young women in our own lives. Continue to educate yourself about the objectification of girls and women, and start to notice it when it happens in your own life. Monitoring the accounts children follow on social media can help, as will having conversations with girls and teens about objectification, and together, making an effort to be mindful of objectification, and replacing our participation in it with critical thinking, empathy, and self compassion.
