Have you ever seen someone on social media and wished you looked like them, had their lifestyle, etc? Unfortunately this is very common. Most influencers share their life of glamour, but it’s not always as it looks. Behind all of the shopping hauls, flawless looks, and style is a lot of fakeness. It is sad how many young children look up to these influencers, wishing they could be just like them. Many young teens develop anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem due to the constant comparison to unrealistic beauty standards being normalized. For example Piper Rockelle is an influencer on Tiktok with over 10 million followers. Piper Rockelle’s influence is major and many people know. Many of her supporters try to be like her, from the way she dresses to the way she acts. Piper is 18 years old and technically is an adult. She’s old enough to do what older people do and that’s fine. However, that’s where the problem begins when she shares these choices with her audience. Many of her fans are children or teenagers who may fully not understand what is appropriate for their age and then what is appropriate for adults. Since they look up to her they most likely are going to copy her behaviors, even if those behaviors aren’t right for their age. This shows how much responsibility influencers have, since their content can shape the way young people see themselves and the world around them.
On apps such as TikTok, and Instagram there is a very specific algorithm used to keep users entertained for hours on end. Due to how addictive these apps can be, young teens are often exposed to misinformation, toxic news, and cyberbullying, which can awfully impact their mental health. Overusing your phone can also lead to sleeping problems over time because of the blue light that suppresses the melatonin hormone. But before social media, many people spent more time on other tasks and hobbies, which meant they had low screentime, but nowadays the average screentime is about 7-8 hours globally, which is a normal amount for about 41% of American teens ages 13-18! 7-8 hours is awfully high, since doctors recommend around 2-3 hours daily. Screen time hours have gone up 7.9% since 2013. Doctors encourage people to spend more time outside, but due to the unusually addictive nature of our devices, it is hard to get off our devices and do something productive. Toddlers start being exposed to phones and tablets as low as 2 years old (about 49% of 0-2 year olds) since they easily entertain, but what guardians don’t realize is that this severely affects their growth and attention span, which is bad because children are supposed to have a high attention span when they begin to learn in school to do well. Grades in schools have also dropped due to children’s attention spans being low from the short-form content they watch on apps like TikTok. Not only grades, but also social interactions and memory capacity in younger children have lowered due to their attention span. It is sad that so many people’s attention spans are low, because the effects are terrible, but that is why it is important to have a low screentime.
How to set a screentime: Usually, certain social media apps have the ability to set a screentime, but the more effective method is using the screentime feature within your device. In your devices settings app, there is an option where you can check your screentime, and set time limits. There, you can put a password needed to access apps after your set screen time has been reached. Lowering screen time isn’t easy if you are so used to spending so many hours on your device, so make goals to lower it! To make it simpler, find other hobbies to do or activities to take part in around you that you find entertaining. Try crafts, spending time with family or pets, helping around in your community, etc. Start lowering your screentime hour by hour, if you’re at 8 hours daily, try 7 hours tomorrow, and keep lowering it until you have reached a healthy amount, such as 2-3 hours. A lot of people depend on their phones, laptops, and tablets for many things nowadays, apart from social media, so that may be another obstacle many people face in their life. Just try to have a healthy time limit for yourself, because your health should be your first priority.
