Is Social Media Responsible for Increasing Unhappiness Amongst Young Girls?
The Children’s Society released their annual Good Child Report which looks into the welfare of children in the UK. The report found that unhappiness in young girls is increasing whilst the levels of unhappiness in boys has remained the same.
The research used in the report surveyed girls and boys from the ages of 10 to 15 years old, and found that a total of 14% of girls were unhappy about their lives and 34% of girls were unhappy with their appearance, an increase of 3% and 4% respectively, whereas the statistics for boys remained the same as previous years.
The study provides a few explanations for this increase in unhappiness amongst young girls, but the main reason that stands out is an increased use of social media and the growing pressures associated with it. It has already been proven that social media has an effect on mental health and the report revealed that girls tend to spend more time on social media than boys, sometimes for periods of up to 3 hours.
So how can social media be having such a huge impact on young girls’ happiness? It may be hard for us to fully understand, as the impact of social media has really accelerated in the last five years so my teenage years were not defined by social media. However, it is easy to see how Facebook and Instagram can increase insecurity in anyone, let alone vulnerable teenagers.
While both Facebook and Instagram provide platforms for creativity and communication, they also provide platforms for narcissism and self-promotion, which combined with filters, photo-shopping and advertising, can create a dangerous and impossible reality which teenagers aspire to copy. Often people only use Facebook or Instagram to post about the good in their life, and in particular Instagram is used as a platform to sell yourself or your lifestyle. If you make it as “insta-famous” then there is not only fame but also serious money that can be made.
This culture of self-promotion has created a dangerous criteria for people to rise to, whether it is the perfect holiday or food snaps, or photoshopped selfies and make-up tutorials with women who can afford to pay for the best fitness instructors, clothes or plastic surgeons for a perfect look. It is easy to see how anyone, let alone young girls, can despair when trying to compare themselves to these impossible standards.
There are other aspects of social media that can specifically damage a young girl’s self-esteem, and that is the new culture of female nudity. You can hardly go on any form of social media nowadays without seeing another naked selfie of a Kardashian or model who have decided to flaunt their perfect curves in the name of ‘empowerment’. This celebration of their flawless bodies can be damaging for girls who aspire to an impossible level of ‘perfection’, mainly because they cannot afford the surgery or specialised fitness instructors, or simply because all women’s bodies are different and trying to transform an ‘apple’ body shape into an ‘hourglass’ is physically impossible without surgical help.
This culture of nudity could also encourage young girls to share their own bodies in a similar way, and this can be especially hurtful as their image might not garner the same response as celebrity nudes. People can be exceptionally cruel through social media and even celebrities deal with their fair share of criticism and judgement.
Furthermore, the overuse of social media might not only be damaging to a young person’s mental health and happiness, but also to their success in school. Recent studies have suggested that children who regularly use social media have a tendency to not perform as well in school, which could further affect their happiness levels. This could specifically be affecting girls more as we have already seen that girls tend to spend larger amounts of time on social media than boys do.
Of course, there are many benefits of social media for those struggling with unhappiness. For many it can provide a platform for people with similar issues, communicating and supporting each other. But it can also allow a platform for abusers to easily find those who are vulnerable and naïve, particularly young people who use social media as a sort of cry for help.
The dangers of overusing social media are prevalent for everyone, but greater measures need to be taken to prevent the growing hold social media has over young people, specifically young girls. Parents in particular should take notice of the amount of time their children are spending on social media. Children under the age of 13 should definitely not be allowed social media accounts, and maybe limiting the amount of time your children spend on social media could help prevent unhealthy obsessions and even improve their school grades. It is also important for parents to encourage discussion with their children on topics like body image and the impacts of social media. This might help unwind the myths of celebrity culture and encourage children to criticise or question these picture-perfect ideals.
The overwhelming effects of social media affect everyone, not just young people. We are all guilty of spending too much time on social media and trying to comply with the idealised norms on Instagram or Facebook. There are many things to celebrate about social media, but obsession over looks and aesthetic is not one of them. Hopefully, one day, more people will realise this.
