Social Media and Its Foster of Self Hatred
By Haley Hart
Nobody is born self conscious. We all come into this world as bald, plain little blobs with no real problems. No one blasts straight out the womb with worries of cellulite or lack of hair volume, thoughts that they might be too thin, too plain, or too hairy.
The thought that any one of my features could ever even be undesirable was a completely foreign concept to me until about age 5, when I watched the wretched 2001 movie, “Princess Diaries.” The story follows 16-year-old Mia Thermopolis, who has never met her father, so of course the only logical explanation is that he is heir to the throne of the fictional country of Genovia. A lot of things happen throughout this film, some that still hold up and some that age poorly, as is the way of early 2000’s rom coms. However, as a kindergartener, only one scene stayed burned in my mind, the one where awkward, frazzled Mia, transforms into a beautiful princess through the power of a straightening iron and contacts. Not to be overly dramatic, but this scene alone is probably the root of all my insecurities, because that was when I realized I bore a striking resemblance to the main character, before the makeover montage!
From that moment on, I grew an intense hatred for my features, especially my hair. But, I wasn't born hating my frizzy curls, it was an insecurity I was taught to have by the media I grew up consuming.
And now, it's not merely TV shows and films that are being consumed by children causing body image issues. In the modern era, we have different forms of media that have taken their place – social media – and it’s having the same horrid effect.
Trend Cycles and Fast Fashion
On social media, fashion trends change extraordinarily quickly. One moment a certain style is praised and universally adored in the eyes of the internet, the next moment it is to be never spoken about again. This phenomenon is likely due to the ever growing velocity of the “fast fashion” industry, an industry that is only continuously supported on social media. Fast fashion, defined by Britannica, refers to,“rapid production of inexpensive, low-quality clothing that often mimics popular styles of fashion labels, big-name brands, and independent designers.” This method of production, which is typically unethically produced, allows companies to quickly manufacture clothing that is popular and currently trending on social media. This, however, has terrible consequences due to how quickly trend cycles shift. Often, these clothes are then thrown away plaguing the environment with their cheap material and toxic plastics.
Social media celebrities that endorse this method of manufacturing have a more intense influence upon the fashion industry than ever seen before. They have the ability to keep trends alive or to put them to rest. The chokehold that influencers and their opinions have on young people exposed to social media is anything but healthy. The need for a sense of belonging is something that is exemplified during adolescence, particularly on social media platforms. Child psychologist Dr. Allen Kanner said, “Teens are inundated with so much marketing about the importance of brands to identity and image, it has changed the way they socialize with each other, interact with adults and view themselves and the world.” This continuous shifting of what is and isn’t popular on the internet has created an enormous desire in young individuals to keep up with such quickly changing trends that discourage individuality.
TikTok 12 year olds and Anti-Aging Products
In 2023, there began an influx in instagram posts regarding a concept known as “Sephora Kids”. Many individuals took to social media to complain about the “swarms of tweens” that had taken over their local Sephora. The posts detailed the destructive and disrespectful behavior of these children. According to CNN’s article regarding the matter, at a Sephora store in New York City, a store employee told CNN that “tweens are frequently flowing in, not really asking for advice or recommendations from staff, and making a beeline for trendy and pricey skincare brands, such as Drunk Elephant, Glow Recipe and Laneige, that are hyped up by influencers.” This means that the current youth is being entirely affected by their observations as to what products they see being used on social media.
Something that is often noted in this conversation is that many of the cosmetic products being purchased and promoted by these children contain retinol, a fat-soluble vitamin that is often used in anti-aging products, ones that teenagers have no business using. This has led to an assumed surge in pressure placed upon the youth to indulge in these cosmetics and these products are being pushed by not only older individuals, but children themselves.
Made-Up Insecurities
Lastly, something wonderful that social media has also provided us with is the acknowledgment and continuous discussion of physical flaws. Phrases such as “hip dips,” “legging legs,” and “facial harmony” have risen to popularity on social media platforms starting roughly in the mid 2010s. These phrases are meant to describe certain desirable or undesirable physical attributes and have almost entirely had a purely negative effect on children exposed to social media. Experts have also attributed the rise in juvenile plastic surgery and adolescent eating disorders to the physical flaws teased on social media. According to Allure Magazine’s Maria Santa Poggi, the way the internet controls these insecurities can be described as, “a perpetually hellish seasonality to the virality of these alleged bodily flaws, to the point that it feels as if we are all mere spectators to a feverish trend cycle treadmill dedicated to insecurity all in itself. She follows this statement saying, “We’re now policing our own bodies at the whims of an algorithm—and therefore criticizing ourselves at a faster pace and maybe even to a greater degree than ever before.”
When speaking to a number of anonymous high school students about their experiences encountering such phrases on social media, one said, “Before I was given access to social media I didn’t know something could be wrong with my body. I remember the first time I heard the phrase ‘bad facial harmony’ on TikTok. It made me look at myself different. It made me feel like I had a huge nose, actually. Prior to the experience, I don’t think I ever even thought about my nose before. Social Media totally shifts self perception.”