Don’t Believe the Hype
By Isla Burns
TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Messages, Whats App…where do I start? These main applications are driving people insane, and they don’t even realize it! It’s pushing people to want to be like everyone else (instead of being who they really are) and has them focusing on their social lives more than their off-screen real lives.
“Is my hair nice?” “Do I look good?” “Is my outfit trendy?” These are things that many teens ask. Don’t even get me started on makeup. People show teens these worthless products in cool packaging and put them on the internet. Teens see how sellers make the product look so amazing and how “magically” the product works. Why do teens want the stuff everyone else is getting? Don’t they want to be different from every other girl? The answer is, actually “NO.” Many want to be like every other girl –but better.
Buy more, change yourself, and be a better person because of it. Hurry up – start with makeup, then get to the outfits. Get the sweatshirt for $100, and shorts for $68. We feel pressure. We are easy targets for marketing agencies on social media platforms. The one who can show off the most expensive things is going to be looked up to by others. “Wow, she’s so cool. Look at all this stuff she has.”
Ads on TikTok, for example, really get our attention. You can be scrolling through and see this girl wearing a super cute shirt. You look in the comments, and all you see is, “Your shirt is so cute, where did you get it?” “How much is that shirt?” Then you find out it’s $180. Do you want to buy it? Yes! Teen girls will do anything to have something cute that they know other girls want. It’s all they see on social media. Instead of going outside, they wrote their brains out on a screen!
You go to your friend’s posts on some platforms and you think to yourself, “She’s so pretty, I wish I were her.” You don’t think about how many pictures she took before editing that “perfect picture” with filters, or how much makeup she has on to hide her insecurities, or if that picture was photoshopped. Instead, many girls flush their self-esteem down the toilet thinking “Why don’t I look like that?”
“Hey! Check my snap!” “What’s your Snap score?” “Check my story.” “Ewww, she sent me an ugly snap.” One mean cyberbullying comment may ruin your whole day. Some are supposed to help you connect with your friends, but the problem is that you may get too attached to replying, and you can put that over what’s important.
Boys are affected by social media, too. It’s easy to turn to social media for the best sneakers and how to get the fluffiest hair! It’s easier to be who everyone else wants you to be, not who you are meant to be. Wait, do you even know who you really are? There’s so much pressure to figure it out right NOW. Who are we? The answer is to pick up the device to figure it out.
Remember that everyone is different in some way…even twins. Different personalities, hair, eyes, and more. You can’t be just like someone else, even if you try your hardest. The truth is, even if you looked exactly like another person, you would probably end up wishing you were just your own, unique, true self. You would realize that you’re good at who you are, and you don’t have to change. Be who you are, and don’t look at your phones to figure it out for you!
Isla is in 8th grade at Warren Middle School. She enjoys skiing, lacrosse, volunteering, and babysitting. We welcome her first contribution to our editorial family.