When it comes to mental health, it's not the amount of time we spend on social media that matters, but how we use it.
The idea that social media is harmful to teens' mental health is well known. There is growing research linking "smartphone and social media use among teens" to "an increase in mental distress, self harm behaviors, and suicidal tendencies." However, simply engaging in the online world doesn’t always seem harmful. In fact, a large scale study involving 2.4 million people across 168 countries found that internet use was associated with improved well being.
For many people, "using the internet was regularly connected to higher life satisfaction, positive experiences, and better social well being." However, not everyone experienced the same benefits. The group that didn’t report higher well being was young women. The study showed:
"Young women, aged 15 to 24, reported lower levels of community well being with increased internet use. This finding aligns with previous research linking social media use to negative mental health outcomes, such as increased anxiety and depression. The study suggests that while the internet can offer many benefits, it may also negatively impact specific demographic groups, particularly regarding social and community well being."
For those who study girls' social media use, this is not surprising, though the media tends to portray online engagement as uniformly bad. We are often told to "worry about screen time." But should we? Or should we focus on certain types of screen time?
Some forms of screen time are clearly harmful, like when girls are groomed, bullied, or encouraged to self harm or develop eating disorders. Even regulating such obviously dangerous sites is difficult because monitoring the online space is notoriously challenging. For example, Ian Russell, the father of Molly (who tragically took her own life after exposure to harmful online content), criticized the Online Safety Bill for not going far enough.
Regulating idealized images is even harder because there’s nothing inherently wrong with an individual image on its own; each one might just be a picture of an attractive girl. But collectively, the constant stream of perfect faces and bodies bombarding young girls is damaging. It shapes how they aspire to look, who they want to be, and makes them feel inadequate when they don’t meet these standards.
In our visual and digital culture, who we are increasingly becomes tied to how we look, and young girls feel pressured to be perfect in both the real and online worlds. In the 2024 Girls’ Attitudes Survey by Girlguiding UK, 54% of girls aged 11-21 said they "wish they looked like they do when they use filters on social media." Additionally, "36% feel pressure to use these filters," and 46% "would feel safer online if there were more unedited images and content." For these girls, the pressure to look perfect online is overwhelming.
Social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat are highly visual, meaning the focus is on images. The image we present ties into our identity, influencing how we view ourselves. Having followers and likes on social media isn’t something we can simply opt out of. While no one is required to have a TikTok or Instagram account, not having one often means being excluded from important social circles and communities.
For young people today, opting out is incredibly difficult because "engaging with media devices in people’s daily lives is not optional; it is a fundamental part of developing a recognized self." Besides being left out of important communities, not joining in also means losing the chance to build your online identity.
Social media may seem fun and inclusive like everyone is welcome at the party. In reality, however, while anyone can post, only certain posts perform well. You need the right look to gain likes and followers, along with a huge amount of luck.
Posting on social media is hard work; it’s not as simple as snapping a quick picture. Creating selfies often involves several steps. In the physical world, this includes applying makeup specifically for the camera (contouring and highlighting), posing to slim waists and enhance curves, and buying tools like a ring light (costing under £20). In the digital realm, it involves using filters to adjust lighting, enhance features (enlarging eyes, whitening teeth, removing blemishes), and apps to reshape the face and body or even completely change one’s appearance.
Not all selfies are this elaborate, but over the decade between 2006 and 2016, the average woman’s beauty routine grew from eight steps to 28. The "10 step K-beauty skincare routine" has gained worldwide popularity. Instagram offers filters automatically, and editing photos has become the norm. Recent studies reveal that 85% of girls in the UK "edit their photos using tools outside the platform’s own features."
Even if we achieve the perfect body and post the perfect picture, we’ll still likely feel anxious, worried, and not good enough. Social comparison is consistently shown to drive body dissatisfaction, yet comparison is practically all we do on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. In real life, social comparison is limited your peer group consists of classmates or coworkers. On social media, the peer group we compare ourselves to is literally everyone posting a selfie. The fact that online peer groups are much larger than in real life and that peer comparison on social media leads to body dissatisfaction is supported by psychological research.
Even if we have the perfect picture, we can never feel fully satisfied on social media; there are always more likes and followers we could have. And deep down, we always know that we don’t actually look like our selfies. A selfie is a curated version of ourselves, not the real us. No matter how effortless it seems, it always, always takes effort. So, why are we surprised that young girls' mental health is suffering under such intense pressure to be picture perfect?