With the emergence of Web 2.0, and it’s support for user-generated content came what is commonly referred to as ‘social media sites’ (GeeksforGeeks, 2022). Social Media, defined by Kietzmann et al. (2011) as having seven functionalities: “identity, conversations, sharing, presence, relationships, reputation, and groups” opens communication to a global scale, and brings with it a digital culture that has reshaped our society into a technological-reliant one (Correll, 2015). A National Center for Education Statistics (2019) survey revealed that 95% of 3 – 18-year-olds have access to the Internet, of which 45% are online frequently, and 97% use social media, making Gen Z the tech-based generation (Anderson & Jiang, 2021). With this level of internet usage, it’s clear to see that social media is prevalent in the lives of children today and influences their lives to a great degree.
Social Media has met its fair share of criticisms, from data collection violating user privacy (Auer, 2011), to online child trafficking and grooming (Greene-Colozzi et al., 2020), considering the volume of children online, it begs the question – does social media affect our kids more than traditional issues? This essay argues yes, especially thanks to the convenience of social media, and how it puts children in dangerous communities and situations they would otherwise be safe from. Negative body image continues to be pushed onto young women as earlier as 10 thanks to social media standards, and filters which warp and erase features to “beautify” their appearance. Cyberbulling claims the lives of far too many children, many of which remained entirely silent about their harassment. And pedophiles and other child abusers are granted free anonymity and a surplus of accounts to contact children through, and even arrange situations to abduct said children. If it’s not a young girls physical health that’s being endangered by social media, her mental health is surely in the line of fire.
Eating Disorders become an aesthetic
A negative body image is something many women already deal with, around 80% of women, in fact (Griffiths et al., 2016). This is something regularly passed down from mother to daughter, though with social media now so prevalent in young girls’ lives, it has only become exacerbated with the added concern of follower count, comments from strangers, or even comparing oneself with the unobtainable and highly edited standards set by online influencers (Jiotsa et al., 2021). Adolescents are already measuring their self-worth by their ‘social media score’, but now young girls have the additional pressure to achieve a standard set by rich vloggers and their edited Instagram selfies (Tiggemann & Slater, 2013).
Unfortunately, from these negative body images issues being shared in online spaces, comes communities, especially on social media. Platforms like Twitter, Instagram and TikTok are well known for their use of hashtags for intra-communities around niche topics and current events, and these platforms boast a large teenage userbase, with Instagram the second most popular platform for teens aged 13 – 17, behind Snapchat (Statista, 2018). The use of hashtags allows for ease of access to specific communities, no matter how niche they are, this includes teen-oriented topics (Gleason, 2018). One such topic is eating disorders, which gained popularity first on Twitter as the hashtag #ED and generated a community of twitter users known as “EDtwt” or “edtwtr” (Nova et al., 2022). A sub-community within EDtwt was known as Anatwt, a community that treats Anorexia as a cute aesthetic, as well as offering recipes and methods of losing unhealthy amounts of weight to a typically young, and vulnerable audience (Emery, 2021). These communities span through hashtags over many popular sites with frequent teenage users, and many of the profiles interacting with these posts are often minors (Nova et al., 2022). While eating disorders aren’t something that is social media centric, the anonymity granted to the users posting, and the fact these communities are easily accessed through a hashtag makes them a far bigger issue than originally perceived. One can guide and assist their child through careful parenting, and proper counselling should their child develop an eating disorder, but communities such as “edtwt” and “anatwt” threaten to create more victims of these disorders, and possibly even cause relapse in an already vulnerable demographic.
TikTok, while like Twitter and Instagram in their hashtag navigation, focuses more on video-based posts, and as such users are able to condense more info and visuals into their posts. This becomes a problem with the tags also being present on the platform, but now with video instructions on “bulimic weight loss”. Though instead of Twitter and Instagrams #ED or #ANA, TikTok communities are instead using #thinspiration or #thinspo for their ED posts (Fetters, 2013). Young girls are interacting with, and even making videos of themselves participating in unhealthy weight loss, and glorifying personalities with underweight figures such as Eugeina Cooney (Dodgson, 2020). TikTok also has an issue with body dysmorphia inducing filters (Dankowska-Kosman, 2022), filters that change a user’s facial features, hair, or even skin colour to meet a certain perceived beauty standard. Many women, and adolescent girls have expressed how they feel the need to use these filters to appear more attractive (Grlic, 2021). It’s these small things from social media, that pile on top of one another and being to seriously damage a child’s mental health as well as their body image, or sense of self which leads them to these “thinspo” or “anatwt” communities in search of a ‘fix’.
Bullying now extends beyond schoolgrounds
An issue that often goes hand in hand with body image is bullying, though with social media, a term coined for digital bullying, particularly on social media (Smith et al., 2008). Cyberbullying victims are most often children, specifically teenagers, many of which are already bullying victims in the traditional sense (Burger & Bachmann, 2021). The issue with cyberbullying is it can lend a layer of anonymity to the perpetrators, and social media accounts are quite easy to create, this means while it may only be 2 or 3 perpetrators, the victim can feel as if they’re being harassed by an entire group of strangers (Hinduja & Patchin, 2008). While traditional bullying is already something that ruins a childs mental health, it is something that can often be escaped once the child leaves the space their bully is in. With cyberbullying, children can be faced with death threats, harassment, hate speech and other disgusting crimes anywhere, at any time, via any platform. This often creates a feeling of helplessness in a child, where they’re ostracised from school and now their own social medias, which can lead to self-harm, suicidal ideations and in worst case scenarios suicide (Hinduja & Patchin, 2008). Cyberbullying also has long lasting effects on children, since they’re still developing mentally, though Deniz (2015) states they’re more likely to withdraw socially and hide the fact they’re being bullied, making it harder for parents to notice the signs. This can be easier done than traditional bullying, as all evidence resides online, or on the child’s social media, rather than in a school yard where a teacher or other guardian can witness or address it. When it comes to social media platforms, according to Dataprot (2022) the platform with the most cyberbullying statistics is Instagram with an under 18 userbase of 78% and 42% of that userbase reporting some sort of cyberbullying.
Revenge porn fuelling child pornography rings
An issue within cyberbullying itself comes in the form of sharing someone’s nude images without their consent. Research from Madigan et al. (2018) revealed the average age of persons under 18 who were sending or receiving sexts was 15, with a 12% statistic on youths who have forwarded a sext without consent, majority of victims being teen girls. Considering this within a cyberbullying environment, now teen girls not only have to fear bullying in school, or at work, but also run the risk of being harassed online, or having their nudes or sext messages leaked to friends or even family. An unfortunate number of children have taken their lives because of cyberbullying, and some even choose to stream it or post about it beforehand (Madigan et al., 2018).
In relation to cyberbullying comes the sexualisation of minors online, with leaked nudes and sexts only adding to the issue of online predators. Many of the victims of released nudes are often young, thus child pornography rings take advantage of the content and distribute it within their circles (Lalli, 2021). Online grooming is the act of interacting with a child with the intent of gaining their trust for sexual favours, minors are often victims due to being undeveloped and easily manipulated with the desire to appease adults (Çıkman et al., 2017). With the massive underage userbase online, it’s become increasingly easier for predators to get in contact with children, and even exploit sexual content from them (Mcalinden, 2006). Social media not only made it easier for children to be harmed by child abusers, but even facilitated a space where paedophiles and sex offenders can congregate under a layer of anonymity to sexualise and interact with children (Mcalinden, 2006).
Many minors have reported receiving unwanted sexual materials from strangers according to data from Dataprot (2022), meaning predators are using the safety of social media to commit acts otherwise illegal in real life, in this case, flashing or indecent exposure to a minor. Social media offers a scary amount of safety to people who want to harm children, allowing them methods of interaction with minors, and even going as far as organising real life meetings with them (Mcalinden, 2006). This leads to child abductions, and even sex trafficking, all of which are enabled through social media platforms.
Conclusion
Social media is advantageous, and fun for the most part. But online communities are becoming more and more predatory towards today’s youth, with far too many cases of children being harmed because of social media related incidents. Parents are often reminded to keep a close eye on their children while they’re “plugged-in”, but many don’t realise something simple and innocent to the eye such as a TikTok video can have life changing effects on their child’s wellbeing and future, or how Cyberbullying is far more intense and horrific than schoolyard bullying, especially with the dangers of underage nudes being shared so often. That the 13-year-old their 13-year-old daughter talks to on Snapchat is a registered sex offender, and child trafficker who is grooming their teenager.
Young girls are raised to protect themselves from dangers in the real world, but the digital one is far scarier, and comes with real world consequences. Where predators and bullies are given anonymity, and an infinite supply of accounts to stalk and harass them on. It shouldn’t cost the mental health, or even the lives of young, hopeful girls for the public to wake up and see the damage social media is having on them. But unfortunately, it has.
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Hi Pualhani,
Thank you for writing this article and bringing some light to a rather distressing reality that our younger generations are exposed to in this modern digital environment. With how ingrained social media platforms have become in our day-to-day lives it’s quite upsetting to learn of the constant expectations and bullying that children are being exposed to. Focusing specifically on the cyber-bullying aspect of your article as it is easier to police on platforms, do you consider the level of moderation and support that these platforms provide to be sufficient enough? You mention parents being naive to the possibility of their children being potentially groomed or targeted on these platforms too so should more be done to promote awareness around these issues?
Thank you again Pualhani and I really hope governments and platforms do take a more proactive approach in addressing these issues. The digital landscape may be unfamiliar to these older generations but for our younger generations that are growing up fully ingrained in the digital landscape we should be doing more to listen to their concerns and troubles they are encountering.
Daniel D.
Hi Paulhani (& Daniel)
A great read, thank you for sharing this information! As an older student, honestly I am really grateful to not have grown up under a social media lens. Adolescence was tricky enough to navigate without the extra pressure that an online community can sometimes bring. In response to Daniel’s comments regarding cyber-bullying I think we are seeing online communities fight back to some extent, with organisations like Dolly’s Dream creating awareness through their “Do it for Dolly” campaign (a link here to their website for more information: https://dollysdream.org.au/about-us/) However I’m not sure we’ll ever be able to put a stop to online trolling, especially of the anonymous kind, but hopefully with better support networks and awareness we can reduce the harm that online comments can cause.
I also heard recently of a study describing a “mass social media-induced Illness” that is causing psychological harm to young people across the globe. It’s likened to Tourettes and is of great concern, especially considering the vastness of online communities, compared to a more traditional community. Here a link to the article if you’re interested: https://academic.oup.com/brain/article/145/2/476/6356504?login=true
If either of you are interested in a read relating to the use of health promotion practice to create safe online communities and dispute health misinformation please have a read on my paper. I’d welcome your feedback. https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2022/csm/325/social-media-and-online-communities-provide-opportunities-for-health-promotion-practice-to-increase-its-effectiveness-and-dispel-health-misinformation/
Hi Daniel,
Thank you for reading my paper.
Apologies for the delay, it took me a while to work out how to locate my own replies.
I appreciate your input, and questions on this topic. I’ll address them separately, if that’s alright.
I personally feel social media sites often rely too much on their userbase to report upsetting or problematic content and don’t engage enough in moderation, especially on sites such as Twitter and TikTok, where contacting minors is exceptionally easy through hashtags.
I believe younger parents are more aware than the generations before them that there are a lot of dangers online, especially for children. And of course I will always advocate for parents to maintain a good, healthy relationship with their child to ensure their children feel safe telling their guardians of anyone they meet online, or any meetings with online communities they plan to attend. But there comes a line where that can step into unhealthy levels of control where a parent or guardian limits a child from the internet which often creates hostility and leads to more secrecy in actions from the child. It’s a grey area, where I can only encourage letting children in your care know they can always tell you about what they’re doing on the internet without fear of punishment.
I could not agree more that Governments need to step up and enforce safety measures for children online.
Hi Paulhani,
What an important topic, thanks for sharing. As a parent of a 4 and 5 year old, I’m already nervous about their future interaction with social media for this reason. It’s one thing to protect your child in the physical world, but online spaces are an entirely different thing. It scares me that many parents – especially those who haven’t experienced platforms such as Instagram and TikTok – really have no idea the kind of material children are exposed to and the communication they in involved in. Social media has many benefits but I agree for children and teenagers who still have developing brains, the negatives outweigh the positives for sure. To hear that there are sub-communities that normalise and glorify anorexia and many young girls rely on filters to feel good about themselves is just awful. I feel that comparing my teenage years to now, there is a big movement on embracing beauty in all its shapes and forms but that probably also comes with maturity and surrounding yourself with people with the same mindset. For these teens the maturity isn’t there to look beyond what they’re seeing as “popular” and “beautiful” on their screens, and all teens want is to “fit in” as we all did, it’s also hard for them to judge whether sending that nude text is a good idea or not. If they knew that their picture would end up in the wrong hands or the “13 year old” they were chatting to was actually a sex offender, they may think twice about their activity online. I think with social media being so prevalent today, children need more education on the dangers of social media and how to cope with cyber-bullying, and as mentioned above, the Government need to take action to prevent more children falling victim to sex trafficking and child pornography.
A very insightful paper and one that proves not all online communities are positive, supportive or authentic.
Hey Monica,
Thank you for reading my paper. I couldn’t begin to imagine how stressful it is as a parent, it’s a big scary world out there and the internet seems to bring it to our doorstep sometimes. In regards to your children, keeping that door open and not blowing up on them when they tell you about things they’re doing online establishes a good level of trust in them to let you know of anything. I grew up relatively poor so I didn’t get onto the internet until my teen years, but even then awful things were easily accessible. I knew I could never tell my mom out of fear of punishment for it, and I think a lot of kids feel the same even today. I hope parents can learn to keep an eye on their kids, while making sure their kids are able to tell them things without fear of judgement or persecution.
I wish you the best with your own babies! I’m sure they’ll be safe with a little guidance!
Yes I completely agree with this. I had a really open and non-judgemental relationship with my mum growing up and I’ve always hoped I could be the same with my own kids. I’d hate for them to feel like they couldn’t be open with me. Thanks so much, I hope so!
Hi Paulhani,
such an educational piece! Given I am currently a generation z girl being raised alongside technology, I can agree with majority of comments made! Your discussion around eating disorders becoming aesthetic was very agreeable, especially the aspect of the unrealistic standards being set by rich beauty bloggers and influencers! Which relates to your statements around girls then going and associating themselves to their social media score. The topic of online bullying is extremely prevalent I feel, do you feel as if COVID has impacted upon the number of people taking to social media to bully others? If so in what way? Your paragraph on revenge porn was extremely intriguing, I feel as if it is not a topic discussed much however it needs to be! Having light shed on the number of youth forwarding texts without consent is needed, as stats like open peoples eyes!
I would also love it if you could give my paper a read and leave any thoughts you might have: https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2022/csm/624/millennials-and-their-habitual-facebook-use-are-pioneering-the-growth-of-the-online-foodie-community/
Hey Georgina,
Thank you for reading my paper! Yes, it is something all too relatable to those of us in Gen Z, girls always seem to take the brunt of it all when it comes to harassment online.
In regards to your question, I think COVID created a lot of angry people who were eager to take it out on someone, as well as gave teens more time online, which most likely increased cyberbullying activities on social media. Online learning was already very stressful, I’m sure many teens felt the stress as well, and much like those angry adults, were looking for someone to take it out on.
Hi Paulhani,
This is such an important topic and very well written paper! I feel lucky to have grown up in a household where I wasn’t allowed on social media platforms until an older age than most in my year. At the time i was upset as all my friends were on them and thought it was unfair! However looking back, i wouldn’t change it and in a sense it was a blessing (in disguise) as I now see and understand the benefits this had on my confidence (especially as a young female) and most important my education around the issues of cyberbullying. I couldn’t imagine growing up in the digital world as we know it now! I find it highly alarming that kids as young as 9/10 are using these social media platforms and they are so highly ingrained in their everyday lives.
I loved your point regarding the issue of anonymity and how easy it is to create a social media account. This is especially concerning as younger and younger audiences are being introduced to these platforms, meaning their maturity levels are also lower, which in turn can potentially lead to issues of cyberbullying particularly outside the classroom. As we know, social media is a virtual space and bully’s take advantage of this anonymity and being able to hide behind a screen. Therefore, it is no surprise that the level of bullying/cyberbullying has increased as individuals who wouldn’t normally have the courage to say something nasty to another persons face, can now do it behind a screen and anonymously! It gives bullies an easier way to target their victims which is extremely concerning.
Continuing on from Daniels comment about your paper mentioning that parents are often unaware that their child is the victim of cyberbullying most likely due to the stigma around cyberbullying and victims are often ashamed and embarrassed. Do you think it’s up to the platforms themselves to put in place effective monitoring & feedback systems or do you believe it’s more of an issue of educating school students and raising more awareness for parents? I’d love to know of your thoughts in what more could be done as it seems a lot needs changing to keep up with these communication platforms and thee issues they present.
Hi Paulhaui
It is such a great read, I really enjoy reading your paper. I agree misinformation can be a very scary weapon. And especially when influencers pop into the conversation, it impacts even more, as people are more likely to believe them. I noticed there is news about Brandy Melville, a fashion brand that has been accused of body shaming. But still, influencers continue to promote this brand to their audience, which created a really toxic culture for females. I think this example is kinda related to your paper!
https://www.instyle.com/fashion/brandy-melville-toxic-culture-racism-sexism-antisemitism
Thank you,
Sin Yi
Hi Paulhaui
It is such a great read, I really enjoy reading your paper. I agree misinformation can be a very scary weapon. And especially when influencers pop into the conversation, it impacts even more, as people are more likely to believe them. I noticed there is news about Brandy Melville, a fashion brand that has been accused of body shaming. But still, influencers continue to promote this brand to their audience, which created a really toxic culture for females. I like to know if influencers did not join the conversation, would the situation change or improve? Let me know what you think, thank you!
https://www.instyle.com/fashion/brandy-melville-toxic-culture-racism-sexism-antisemitism
Sin Yi
Hello Pualhani!
I really enjoyed reading your paper! It is indeed true that social media these days are becoming more and more scary but I would like to know your views on a certain point, particularly in regards to your paragraph on eating disorder and the negative body image that women are being subjected to on a daily basis. You mentioned Instagram and TikTok a lot as a community platform, I would like to know your opinion on people who are using these platforms to encourage body positivity and body acceptance as well as self love? Do you think they are doing the right thing and do you think that young girls today will feel less insecure about their body as these “influencers” encourages them to love themselves rather than paying much attention to look like Instagram models?