The Impact of Social Media on Adolescent Behavior: A Closer Look

Teens in modern society have more access to social media than people like our parents had when they were our age. Influencers on platforms such as Youtube, Instagram, and TikTok, are starting trends such as the Stanley cup craze and Skincare Sephora girl aesthetic. Girls talk about their skincare routine, showing their "perfect skin" creating unrealistic beauty standards that when others find hard to fit into makes a whole new world of insecurity.

Different brands get a lot of publicity because of this and nobody really considers the implication that the viewers are constantly comparing themselves to these people. This is truly setting the bar so high for young teens that it leads to worse mental health and a negative body image. Not to mention how much money teenagers are wasting trying to maintain a "perfect" image, that is not really their own. In addition to influencers causing people anxiety, it is also causing people to waste their lives away mindlessly scrolling on TikTok. The amount of influence the people behind the cameras have on the viewer goes to show how much social media impacts adolescent behavior. Just recently a trend known as the Stanley cup craze was an incredibly popular trend that motivated people to spend hundreds on this cup. It got so out of hand that young adults were made fun of for not having one. I am afraid to admit that at the time I fell victim to the trend and I was not mad about it. I liked mine. However things got ruined after we find out that this expensive but popular cup has lead in it and if it breaks many people could be exposed to lead in their water. So what do you think, is social media for young teens a good thing or something that could be hurting our generation?