Teenagers, we’re addicted to social media. According to Kathryn Robinson, Survey: Most kids spend more than 5 hours a day on social media or video games, November 28, 2022, Local12, kids are staring at a screen of lies for 5 or more hours of their day. That is 5 or more hours of allowing social media news to impact our young minds. That's 5 or more hours to change the way young women live…for the worse. That is 5 or more hours for our eyes to view unrealistic expectations at such a young age. That is 5 or more hours everyday that creates unhealthy habits. Those hours add up, and as we get older, 5 hours a day will go up as well. These are countless hours we are wasting on frying our brain. Here’s the truth: social Media ruins young girls and young women. In those 5 or more hours, we are exposed to unrealistic lifestyles, forming self hatred, and feelings of depression, but there's a way that parents can help with this problem. 

Scrolling on instagram or tiktok, I catch myself comparing my 15 year old self to a 25 year old woman who already has a job, her life together, and a “perfect body”. This is when I get jealous and upset at myself for not succeeding this lifestyle at 15. I know I'm not the only girl who does this all the time. According to Solstice East, The Effect of Social Media on Body Image in Teen Girls, December 1, 2022, 88% of girls compare themselves to others online. Social media is filled with older women who have this “amazing life” which is an act and I think it is so toxic for youth viewers. These creators and influencers know who their audience is yet they still put out a fake life, if not, an unrealistic life for a teenager to see. When girls view these older women, we are encouraged to develop horrible habits like fake dieting, unneeded makeup, and inappropriate clothing. It can mess with teenage girls' minds to make them think they need to change themselves to form this lifestyle at a young age. Furthermore, little girls will start changing their habits and appearance while teenage girls already have.

When there are unrealistic life and self expectations, self hatred is going to form no matter what. I know that from thinking of myself and friends, teenage girls get lots of stress and anxiety when we feel the need to look like some stupid goal set by social media. The main cause of self hatred followed by anxiety is our body image, which I think is 100% the biggest issue of all. According to Anne M Morris and Debra K Katzman, The impact of the media on eating disorders in children and adolescents, National Center for Biotechnology Information, 60% of teenage girls are trying to drop their weight even though they are perfectly healthy. In addition, this is why it is a horrible idea to allow young teens on phones without any restriction. Girls are exposing themselves to media standards, importantly encouraging them to achieve their ideal body leads to eating disorders and starving oneself. Restricting food is just one form of self harm teens resort to but will hide. Girls most likely feel ashamed for who they are and will harm themselves to get a sense of control, distract, punish, and express emotions. Self harm has become too common nowadays hence the many forms all consisting of hurting oneself like not eating, cutting, and not sleeping due to mental wars. 

Not only is self hatred one of the mental wars teen girls have to fight against because of our phones, so is depression. Yes, I think social media can have its pros by connecting us with our friends outside of school but that can also easily turn into a con, says Huntsman Mental Health Institute, THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON TEENS’ MENTAL HEALTH, January 20, 2023, Healthcare Utah. Us girls are exposed to very toxic online societies whether it's people from our own school or randos on tiktok leaving rude comments. These mindless comments make young women feel so insecure, they start to lose the pleasure to do actual activities because social media makes us feel embarrassed about anything. Eventually some girls will drop out of sports, stop doing homework, and cancel plans with friends. The fact is, girls want to participate but there's a feeling of embarrassment to the point it gets to depression. Depression in fact messes with the mind furthering troubles of resting the mind and eventually leading to little to no sleep. Teenage girls need at least 8 hours of sleep to regroup and when that isn't taken care of, it makes life tasks for instance, eating or showering even more difficult since there isn't the right mindset. Moreover, some people who don't deal with depression will just say “get up, it's not that hard '' because they don't care enough to listen. As we cannot force someone to care, there should always be two people we can lean on…parents. 

As teenagers, having our parents help with knowing our self worth can impact our lives so much. Parents don't have to do a whole lot to make a big difference. One of the easiest things to do is just become a friend. If parents work to build that bond and trust with their daughter, the outcome of knowing what's going on will be much greater. Parents can encourage their girls to talk with them by inviting them to join a task, says Unicef, Four things a parent can do to support their teen’s mental health. While doing something fun, it will be more like a hangout than a scary talk with our mom. This way, they can show support and care. Daughters will feel more comfortable sharing their thoughts and any new choices in their life because they know a parent will be supportive instead of angry. But it's not only important to be supportive for a kid, it's also crucial to be there for oneself. Instead of young girls looking up to women they see on social media, be the women they look up to. Make it noticeable it's okay to have emotions, not change for others, and have a normal life. If girls see their awesome mothers doing healthy habits, daughters may start to. Don't wait to re correct bad habits when good habits can be forming right now. 

In conclusion, unrealistic lifestyles, self hatred, and feelings of depression are all major effects of the social media we know today. However, I named ways parents can help with this spreading problem. Still though, social media stays ruining young girls and young women. This issue honestly needs to be stopped soon before the younger generations are exposed or even more exposed to the horrible effects. I got my first “phone” which was an ipod touch when I was only 8 years old. Since it was such a young age, I grew up way too quick because I was trying so hard to be someone else. I constantly watched every move these girls made and then proceeded to go do the same thing. Eventually I got super frustrated with myself and soon figured out that it doesn't work like that in our world. I still understand it doesn't work that way but even now, my brain runs on the question: “why don't I look like that”. Now every time social media is popped up on that phone, remember in those 5 plus hours, we are destroying our vulnerable minds day by day. Don't let society today win this toxic war.