Social Medias Impact on Youth Mental Health

 During Mrs. Daveys presentation on Social Media and the impact it has on mental health specifically in teens, I learned some new very interesting things. We mainly focused on the different archetypes of people on social media, for example the "clean girl aesthetic" or the "cool girl aesthetic" and others like the "soft boi vibe" and dove into the gender stereotypes in each one of those archetypes.

A "Clean Girl," by definition, is a popular trend characterized by a minimalist, natural, and polished look. It emphasizes effortless chic, well-maintained appearance, and a focus on natural beauty with minimal makeup. The "Cool Girl" trend is a trend where it is a girl effortlessly dressed in interesting clothes and unique accessories. The "Cool Girl" wears usually no makeup and is typically a tom-girl. The "Soft Boi Vibe" refers to an aesthetic and lifestyle characterized by traits that challenge traditional masculine norms, focusing on gentleness, softness, and a less aggressive approach to style and personality. The issue with archetypes like this is when people compare themselves to these social media stars, and feel insecure over not liking how they look compared to them. This has impacted mental health in multiple ways. Around 3% of adolescent girls have eating disorders or eating issues because of social media and because of the way it has created a stereotype of needing to look a certain way. Around 25% of adolescents have said to have had a negative impact from social media or have had their mental health affected because of it. The issue with archetypes like the "clean girl aesthetic" is that people just want to be like what they see on the screen, but what they are watching is never the full truth. Typically, videos you see on TikTok or Instagram are staged, and it takes many tries to achieve the video they want. The "effortless look" that you can supposedly achieve by doing a "clean girl routine" most likely took the person over an hour to achieve the look or most likely took them many tries and is shortened into a 30-second video. 

There are also many types of videos where that could have a negative effect on the person watching. Many people express their mental health issues through videos, post about it, and go as far as to film themselves crying. This affects people watching the videos because even though the person watching could be doing ok mentally, watching videos like that could bring down the person's mood. The algorithm controls your social media feeds, so as soon as you watch one 15-second video about someone who is not doing well, videos like that will constantly show up even if you only watch half of the video.