Scrolling, scrolling, scrolling, stop. I love this influencer. They’re pretty. They have a lot more than me. I wish I were them. This is the thought process of many teenage girls as they pass their time on TikTok or Instagram. There are numerous influencers to choose and hit the follow button. Many have realized, however, that the specific people they choose to view have negatively affected their mental health. What makes girls choose a specific influencer though? Could it be their appearances? Their style? And most importantly, does this influencer impact the girls following them?
Many teenage girls enjoy the social media influencers they follow. Sophomore Samantha Rosamillia states, “I follow Hailey Beiber and she helps me find myself in life. She makes me a better person and happier overall.” Additionally, Sophomore Madison Estes states, “I follow Alix Earle and she influences me through her makeup products she recommends and therefore I buy them.”
West Morris Central Guidance Counselor Leah Hennessy has concerns about teen girls today because of their pressures: “Everything revolves around social media. Whether it be, not only Instagram that’s the most popular platform, but Snapchat and Tiktok. There’s so many sources of social media that are just in students’ faces all the time. So I couldn’t imagine being a teenager in this society and just having to be surrounded with all these different pressures. Whether they’re avert or subtle pressures of looking a certain way. If you don’t look a certain way or you don’t feel a certain way you have to deal with that impact of not feeling like you’re good enough because you don’t look the way you’re hoping to look.”
However, more and more teens and companies have been recognizing the impact of social media. Companies have made attempts to use their platforms more responsibly. Hennessy states, “I really feel for this generation because of the impact that social media has on feeling the need to look a certain way, not even on social media truly, through movies and through television. I’ve been seeing more brands, like Aerie, that have a really cool advertisement platform where they use women of all body types. I feel like that is really promising in a sense. Even Victoria’s Secret and some of those companies are shifting. They’re advertising a mentality to represent women of all different body types. I think today still, however, since social media is all over the place it’s kind of hard to really save it.”
Social Media Influencers, a major part of the media incorporation of TikTok and Instagram are constantly streaming through phones. Hennessy states, ”The constant streams on TikTok, is this productive in any way? I could scroll through TikTok for hours. It’s kind of crazy the impact. It’s so strong that it has on society. It’s unfortunate how much the platform has a hold on people. Even some of the messages we see on Tiktok or Instagram are these influencers who look a certain way. Whether they are saying you need to look that certain way or not, it’s still what we’re surrounded with.”
When someone is constantly being watched, their physical appearance and actions are admired. This admiration has an impact on the viewer. Young teenage girls especially mimic trends they see online to try and look like these influencers. They might change their hair, their makeup, or even try to change their body.
“To an extent, people are really promoting celebrating people of different shapes and sizes but it’s hard to separate yourself from seeing other people who look a certain way and not wanting or feeling like you need to look like that” Hennessy states.
For teenage girls, it is important to have a positive view of themselves, something social media may ruin. Hopefully, with this recognition of mental health problems and body positivity, social media can change for the better.
