Nicole Week 2: The Cynical Manipulation of Social Media

  As the first teenagers to grow up during the rise of social media, we are the guinea pigs of society. Human’s natural susceptibility to falling into social trends is nothing new, as these observable patterns have dated back to even the depths of history. Social media users are growing continuously at alarming rates, providing the majority of the world with a means of connection without face to face interaction. Although social media has offered society an array of opportunities and benefits, this blog will be discussing the sinister side that we all unknowingly fall victim to. 

    I’m sure I can speak on behalf of all of you, that you have certainly had to sit through the boring annual lecture at school on harmful internet trends. Personally, all I have retained from many years of listening to these unnecessary speeches is that adults truly have no faith in our generation; I think we are aware of why ingesting tide pods may possibly be a bad idea! You must understand, that I am in no way attempting to imply that these assemblies are entirely useless, however, veering attention to the “innocent” trends and their underlying intentions would be a greater benefit. So far, from my observation, schools have failed to educate this generation on the real dangers of social media. 

    Societal standards are stealthily being projected in a way that directly affects the impressionable minds of this generation: through social media. Social media is unavoidable, and when we are constantly exposed to it, we are bound to follow its trends. You notice that all your peers have hopped onto these said trends, so, you follow closely behind. There is a clear unspoken competition between one another on social media; who can receive the most likes, views, and praise, feuling a reliance on social validation which is rapidly seeping into reality. 

    Directly pertaining to body image, there is a certain trend that is so deceiving that it makes it difficult for viewers to decipher whether it is truly something innocent, or possibly serving a more deceitful purpose. Although society has made advancements in body inclusivity, apps such as Tiktok immensely backtrack this progress. Videos promoting unrealistic beauty standards through trends that involve compulsively “body checking” have taken over. As these videos popularize, that set “look” that the individuals in these videos obtain subsequently become the standard for other teens to compare themselves to. In addition, Tiktok’s algorithm makes these videos virtually impossible to avoid. On a broader scale, this fixed standard inevitably fuels into insecurity. This social scheme directly collaborates with marketers who thus promote their products to the public. These products are marketed to cater to these insecurities and advertise the notion that their products will “fix” them, propelling impressionable teens to buy their products. What we as a society fail to understand when these products do not end up alleviating our insecurities, is that the true root of this social phenomenon is the blind naivety to “innocent” social media trends. Can you give another example of a seemingly “innocent” social media trend?