Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsMedia Reinforces Gender RolesWhy Social Media Impacts Mental HealthHealth Media Habits
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Table of Contents
Media Reinforces Gender Roles
Why Social Media Impacts Mental Health
Health Media Habits
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Children grow up in an environment that’s saturated with media. Research shows that as of 2020, girls between birth and age 8 take in approximately two hours of screen media a day, with a majority of that time spent with videos, especially on YouTube.
And screen time only gets longer as children get older. In 2021, tween girls spent an average of almost five hours using screens for entertainment per day while teen girls spent about eight hours per day.
This article will explore what psychological research says about the ways media consumption impacts girls and will provide suggestions that parents, teachers, therapists, and concerned citizens can use to help girls develop healthier media habits.
The Social Media and Mental Health Connection
Girls Learn About Gender Roles Through Media
Before they’re able to talk, children are able to distinguish between men and women. Studies have shown that children as young as six months can discern men’s voices from women’s voices and that they can do the same for photographs of men and women at nine months.
Between 11 and 14 months, children develop the ability to associate the two, matching men’s voices with photos of men and women’s voices with photos of women. Thus, children develop an understanding ofgendercategories from a very early age.
Moreover, researchhas demonstrated that children pay more attention to, better remember, and more successfully engage in activities or play with toys that they are told, directly or indirectly, are for their gender.
By extension, the gender representations in media may be an especially important source of learning about gender roles starting in early childhood. As a result, the biases baked into the representation of girls and women in media can be problematic.
Media Still Perpetuates Traditional Gender Roles
While the general public is increasingly aware of the way messages that reinforce traditional gender roles can limit peoples' choices, children’s media, a major provider of these messages, still tends to promote stereotypical gender roles.
Some progress has been made, with a recent analysisof popular children’s programs finding that a majority of episodes positively represent female characters. However, those same programs are twice as likely to feature a male character in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) professions than a female character and are three times as likely to show female characters in revealing clothing or partially naked.
In general, media messages suggest that being a boy or man is more valuable than being a girl or woman.Moreover, greater media exposure is related to greater beliefs in gender stereotypes, including more traditional attitudes regarding behaviors,sexual and romantic relationships, and occupational roles.
Body Dissatisfaction as an Effect
The stereotypical depictions of gender in media have real consequences for both genders.
For example, exposure to traditional gender representations influences girls' perceptions of their current interests and future possibilities,which has the potential to prevent them from pursuing fulfilling careers, especially in STEM fields.
Why Does Social Media Impact Girls' Mental Health?
Since the invention and widespread adoption of social media, studies have consistently shown interactions on these sites, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, negatively affect girls, leading todepression, negativebody image, and potentially even suicide.
For example, one studyfound that increased use ofsocial mediawas associated with poor sleep, online harassment, low self-esteem, and negative body image, which were then all associated with depressive symptoms, especially for girls.
Similarly, another studyfound a consistent link for girls betweensocial mediause and mental health issues including poor self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and lower life satisfaction. This link was found to be stronger than that shown between mental health concerns and binge drinking, sexual assault, early sexual activity, and being suspended from school.
Social Media Use Causes Stress and Social Comparison
Part of the reason for this is the nature ofsocial media, which involves interactions through text and images that can be curated and crafted specifically for others' consumption. As a result, things like the number of likes one receives can be a source of stress.
In addition, social media promotes social comparison, where people compare and contrast themselves to others on the platforms, often with negative results.
For example, one investigationfound a relationship between Facebook usage and depressive symptoms that were the result of the negative impact of participants comparing themselves to others on the site.
The negative consequences of social media use on girls have led scholars to suggest that the increase insuiciderates from 1999 through 2014 among girls between the ages of 10 and 14 could be the result of greater social media use.
How Can Parents and Others Help Girls Form Healthy Media Habits?
Girls shouldn’t be prevented from consuming media completely. Instead, parents, teachers, therapists, and other people can help girls build healthy media habits.
How to Develop Healthy Media Habits
How the Media Impacts Girls' Mental Health
16 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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