03. Wait, when did you give consent to receive an ad? Asking for a Friend by Adamari
04. How do we form healthy social media? by Liliana + Jessica
05. Keeping Minds Pure
06. How social media affects teenagers mental health
07. Targeted
In this issue, HOPE Youth Coalition Leaders illustrates how advertisements and influencers platforms impact youth's mental health. Social media platforms should be space to uplift youth's growth- HOPE Youth Coalition leaders envision an online community free of unhealthy messages.
Healthy Online Platforms for Everyone (HOPE)
Youth Coalition is a program of Youth Leadership Institute. We are a California statewide coalition that aims to hold social media companies and the online community responsible for the messages and advertising we all receive.
Youth Contributors:
Aayush Verma
Adamari Cota
Jessica Beltran-Hernandez
Liliana Beltran-Hernandez
Nancy Aquino-Aguilar
Selena Dinn
Wait-whendidyougiveconsentto receiveanad?Askingforafriend.
#healthyonline#predatorymarketing#ads
I had heard about its effects on mental health but I didn’t perceive it until I had heard about its effects on mental health but I didn’t perceive it until it happened to me and even friends. I started comparing myself to many it happened to me and even friends. I started comparing myself to many social media influencers. Not only that, but I saw my friends getting social media influencers. Not only that, but I saw my friends getting influenced by these celebrities in the wrong way. I remember one of these influenced by these celebrities in the wrong way. I remember one of these celebrities did an advertisement for the consumption of celebrities did an advertisement for the consumption of vaping/marijuana use. It was being glamorized all over their social media vaping/marijuana use. It was being glamorized all over their social media page. My friend thought it was “cool” how their favorite social media page. My friend thought it was “cool” how their favorite social media influencer was advertising it on their post but they soon realized that this influencer was advertising it on their post but they soon realized that this isn’t a healthy place to be in. isn’t a healthy place to be in.
Social media is an easy space to gain influence from others in many way
Social media is an easy space to gain influence from others in many wayss. . For that reason, I envision a healthy online platform for everyone, which For that reason, I envision a healthy online platform for everyone, which means making sure these platforms have a policy that limits means making sure these platforms have a policy that limits advertisements reaching people’s feeds, especially those who are advertisements reaching people’s feeds, especially those who are underage . We need reviews to make sure these ads don’t come in our underage . We need reviews to make sure these ads don’t come in our feeds and that these influencers advertise these ads to the right audience. feeds and that these influencers advertise these ads to the right audience. For example, if an ad is being seen on someone’s feed it would have to be For example, if an ad is being seen on someone’s feed it would have to be for the right age range. for the right age range.
byJessicaBeltran
byAayushVerma
This past year in the Healthy Online Platforms for Everyone (HOPE) Youth Coalition we have had many discussions on creating a healthy social media platform with the aim of dismantling predatory advertisements. The HOPE Youth Coalition consists of many teenagers who have noticed in their own school the effect of social media on people’s self-esteem. Many students will compare their lives or body image to others on social media, even though social media often represents a fake life for many. The constant stimuli of people’s ‘perfect’ life causes people to try to live up to their standards but in reality, leads to feelings of lower self-worth. In our meetings, we generally discuss social media’s influence on substance and alcohol consumption, teenagers comparing each other on social media, the addictive nature of social media, and limiting tobacco and alcohol consumption on a legislative level. Additionally, we often analyze many advertisements on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter that market alcohol products, either through organic posts or promotional posts.
My time with the HOPE Youth Coalition has largely been spent leading the model policy team and presenting to META (also known as Facebook) about safeguarding young kids’ social media feeds. In our presentation to META our aim was to combat the predatory advertisements on social media through age-gating policies, which set the age that people can view alcohol and substance advertisements on social media to 21 - the legal age for consuming alcohol in the U.S- instead of 18.
One aspect I want to focus on is sexually explicit content and its relation to alcohol advertisements. Many alcohol advertisements portray women as sexual objects and link alcohol consumption to sexual success. Moreover, studies show that alcohol advertisements influence men particularly to engage in sexual coercion. The prevalence of sexually explicit content is also used to grab the attention of teenagers. Given that 40% of people under 13 years old have Instagram, young people have a constant stimulus of sexual content. According to research from the New York Times and various research journals, for many young people, sexually explicit content can lead to an unhealthy addiction and often a skewed idea of sexual behavior Moreover, research shows that alcohol marketing with women ‘models’ contributed to the sexualization of women. Many alcohol advertisements can set gender stereotypes for women and objectify them as sexual objects.
Oftentimes it is unavoidable as bots or fake users permeate all over Instagram and individuals are bound to see it. When young people view sexually explicit content, it creates unrealistic expectations of intimate relationships in the future. For instance, 55% of people have engaged in sexual activity before age 18 because people feel it is normal. According to The Guardian, “children and teenagers who are exposed to sex through the media are more likely to engage in sexual activity than those who are not.” It is imperative to safeguard children’s future by educating them about safe sex and contraception; instead, social media normalizes and promotes sexual activity. Social media can often be a bad influence on teenagers and compel them to experiment with appealing yet dangerous things in life.
Throughout the year with the HOPE Youth Coalition we’ve had many discussions on how social media affects teenagers and our biggest topic was how it affects them mentally. Most teenagers have social media as an escape from reality but they don’t realize it can really just drain them mentally.
Research clearly just shows how exposure to the media affects your body dissatisfaction and eating disorders. Social media is unfortunately shaping our concept of beauty. With the constant exposure to images posted online, it is evident that there is a link to how individuals compare themselves and perceive their own body.
One of the main causes is influencers and celebrities. Mostly all of them photoshop and edit their bodies in both photos and videos. They make it look so realistic that you can’t even notice that it’s photoshopped. This leads teenagers to see the “perfect” body and make them feel bad about themselves.
Another cause is plastic surgery that these celebrities and influencers do without anyone knowing making it seem like they are all “natural”.
Usually when teenagers wake up the first thing they do is go on their phone and check all their socials. This is a really bad way to start off your day because if you see a mean comment or something that makes you upset it ruins the day for you because you’ll be thinking about that specific thing all day.
One day I woke up and checked my phone to see one of my posts got a lot of views and likes. It was a post about how i got assaulted at school and got my hijab ripped off by one of the students. I went through the comments and saw a girl making up lies and twisting the story so it really upset me and made me feel horrible throughout the day, especially since it was a sensitive topic.
On Tiktok there’s usually these pretty girls that pop up on people’s for you pages and they have these “perfect” bodies and the comments are always flooded with things like this
Learning to take time out of your day to go outside and get some fresh air or do some of your hobbies is a great way to refresh your mind and better your mental health
Social media use can be very effective towards a person in a very negative way which is why if you have social media you should have limited time with it. I have a specific amount of screentime for myself everyday so i’m not using social media too much throughout the day.
Social media is a very dangerous place when it comes to teenagers with their mental health which is why it’s very important to have limit social media use on a daily basis.Targeted by Nancy Aquino-Aguilar
Social Media can easily target ads that have your interest and likes in the ad. As well as use the influence of people you follow to further target you and get your interested and buy their target.
