The Mental Health Crisis Among Gen Z Girls: Causes and Impact - Freya India

Gen Z girls are facing a mental health crisis due to the overwhelming influence of social media, beauty companies, and therapy industry, leading to increased anxiety, depression, and self-harm 

Questions to inspire discussion 

• What is causing the mental health crisis in Gen Z girls?

  —The overwhelming influence of social media, beauty companies, and the therapy industry is leading to increased anxiety, depression, and self-harm in Gen Z girls.

• How are therapy and drug companies influencing Gen Z girls?

  —Therapy and drug companies are glamorizing mental health diagnoses and medication, influencing Gen Z girls' discussions and behaviors through social media.

• What impact does social media have on Gen Z girls' mental health?

  —Social media is shaping Gen Z girls' worldview, blurring the lines between online and real life, and promoting unrealistic beauty standards, leading to anxiety and stress.

• How is the glamorization of mental health issues affecting Gen Z girls?

  —The glamorization of mental health issues on social media is normalizing and exacerbating mental distress in Gen Z girls, leading to a lack of coping skills and resilience.

• What role do influencers play in the mental health crisis of Gen Z girls?

  —Influencers are promoting the sharing of mental health problems on social media, potentially pressuring young people to make their struggles a part of their identity, and contributing to the decrease in stigma around mental health.

Key Insights 

Impact of social media on mental health of Gen Z girls

• 📱 The rise in mental health issues in the early 2010s coincides with the introduction of the iPhone in 2007 and the launch of Instagram in 2010, suggesting a potential link to social media.
• 📱 The danger of unlimited messaging therapy: "being able to message a therapist 24/7 from your room means that you're not developing resilience to deal with things."
• 😷 The glamorization and normalization of mental health diagnosis among Gen Z girls is perpetuated by social media and online culture.
• 📱 The algorithmic conveyor belt on social media pushes children to the extreme end point of their interests, insecurities, and vulnerabilities.
• 🌪️ Like so many things in gen Z feel really extreme. Like the way we talk about mental health the way we talk about sexuality the way we talk about politics.
• 🤯 "The number of anti-depressant prescriptions for children Age 4 to 12 has increased by over 40% more in the US as well."
• 💪 The female mental health crisis and the male body image crisis are predicted to become the main stories over the next 10 years.
• 🚺 "I think a lot of the mental health advice now is geared toward women, but I actually think that's gone so far that it's now harming women as well."
• 📸 Girls are staring at often distorted versions of their faces for hours a day, leading to mental health issues and body dysmorphia.

Exploitation and commercialization of mental health issues among Gen Z girls

• 💰 Companies are exploiting the vulnerabilities of adolescent girls to target and monetize their mental distress online.
• 💊 Gen Z is bombarded with mental health advice to buy products or take pills, but often what they need is to look at their life and make real human connections.
• 💄 Gen Z girls are facing record rates of cosmetic surgeries and body dysmorphia, despite the message of self-love and body positivity being everywhere.
• 💰 Mainstream feminism has been co-opted by corporations, promoting materialistic and consumerist values.

#Relationships #Girls #SocialMedia

Clips

• 00:00 🚺 Gen Z girls are facing a mental health crisis due to the overwhelming influence of social media, beauty companies, and therapy industry, leading to increased anxiety, depression, and self-harm.
  • Gen Z girls are experiencing a mental health crisis, with a significant increase in anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide, which is likely linked to the rise of social media and targeted advertising.
  • Gen Z girls are facing increased mental distress due to the exploitation of their vulnerabilities by beauty companies and the overwhelming influence of social media and online culture.
  • The therapy industry, pharmaceutical industry, and social media companies are exacerbating age-old feelings, leading to a lack of coping skills and resilience in Gen Z girls.
  • Gen Z girls are suffering due to pressure from social media, beauty, and therapy companies to have a perfect life, face, and soul, leading to the marketization and medicalization of normal distress.
  • Gen Z girls are experiencing anxiety and stress, being influenced by therapy and drug companies, and glamorizing mental health diagnoses and medication, with a significant amount of their discussions and behaviors being influenced by social media.
  • Gen Z girls are suffering due to the overwhelming influence of social media on their daily lives, shaping their worldview and blurring the lines between online and real life.
• 13:24 🚺 Gen Z girls are suffering due to exposure to extreme and misrepresentative content on social media, leading to skewed beliefs and potentially harmful behaviors, with influencers being irresponsible in promoting the sharing of mental health problems.
  • Gen Z girls are turning to social media for guidance on how to behave, rather than listening to their parents or the news.
  • Gen Z girls are suffering due to exposure to extreme and misrepresentative content on social media, leading to skewed beliefs and potentially harmful behaviors.
  • Gen Z girls are experiencing extreme pressure and exposure to intense content, leading to a normalization and glamorization of mental health issues.
  • Gen Z girls are facing mental health issues and there is a need to go beyond just normalizing the conversation about it.
  • Influencers are encouraging young people to share their mental health medication on social media, but the speaker believes it is not right to push them to fight the stigma and questions the intentions behind the campaign.
  • Influencers are being irresponsible by promoting the sharing of mental health problems on social media, leading to young people feeling pressured to make their struggles a part of their identity, and the stigma around mental health is decreasing.
• 22:55 👩‍🦱 Gen Z girls are suffering from the pressure of social media, lack of role models, and excessive mental health advice, leading to a potential mental health crisis and body image issues.
  • Gen Z girls are suffering due to the pressure to document and share every meaningful moment on social media, which cheapens and distracts from the actual experience.
  • Gen Z girls are experiencing a disconnect from living in the moment due to excessive screen time and the pressure to document everything for social media.
  • Gen Z girls are bombarded with mental health advice that promotes buying products or services, but often what they really need is to evaluate their lives and make positive changes.
  • There is a lack of role models and discipline for young women, leading to a potential mental health crisis and body image issues, while the ideal male body has also changed drastically.
  • Society's focus on mental health advice for women has gone too far, leading to a coddling culture that is making girls more depressed and behave worse, with social media exacerbating female vices.
  • Gen Z girls are suffering due to the pressure of social media and the ability to exclude and be passive aggressive towards others.
• 41:20 👧 Gen Z girls are suffering from dysmorphia and mental health issues due to the pressure of social media and unrealistic beauty standards perpetuated by filters and editing apps.
  • Gen Z girls are suffering due to the brutal and anonymous nature of social media, as well as the normalization and encouragement of selfie editing by companies.
  • Gen Z girls are struggling with self-image and body perceptions, leading to an increase in cosmetic surgeries and dysmorphia, despite the message of self-love and body positivity being promoted.
  • Gen Z girls are suffering from dysmorphia due to constantly seeing distorted versions of themselves through filters and social media, leading to a disconnect between their online and real-life appearances.
  • Gen Z girls are suffering due to the unrealistic beauty standards perpetuated by social media filters and editing apps, leading to body dysmorphia and mental health issues.
  • Gen Z girls are suffering due to the pressure of social media and the gradual process of getting cosmetic procedures.
  • Influencers are sharing unflattering photos to combat the pressure of perfection on social media, but the speaker believes that the solution is to post and consume less rather than sharing deep vulnerabilities online.
• 55:37 🚺 Gen Z girls are suffering due to a fear of vulnerability, risk aversion in relationships, and prioritizing immediate emotional comfort over long-term flourishing.
  • Gen Z girls are becoming more progressive due to factors such as education and social media, leading to a divergence in worldviews between them and Gen Z boys.
  • Gen Z girls are becoming risk averse in relationships and dating due to negative messaging on social media and past experiences with divorced parents.
  • Gen Z girls are suffering due to a fear of vulnerability and a belief that they can avoid risk and uncomfortable emotions, leading to missed opportunities for meaningful experiences.
  • Gen Z girls are expressing a fear of discomfort and risk aversion, leading to a trend of warning others about the risks and discomfort of having children.
  • Gen Z girls are suffering due to prioritizing immediate emotional comfort over long-term flourishing, avoiding risk and change, and being primarily concerned about the imposition of relationships and having kids on their lives.
  • Gen Z girls are suffering because society prioritizes job satisfaction and friendship over marriage and parenthood, leading to a lack of role models for a family-oriented lifestyle.
• 01:08:42 👩 Gen Z girls are facing pressure to conform to traditional gender roles, lack role models promoting meaningful relationships, and struggle with conflicting messages about sex positivity, leading to anxiety and confusion.
  • Gen Z girls are facing pressure to conform to traditional gender roles and expectations, as seen in the potential reactions to Taylor Swift and Alex Cooper's personal choices.
  • Promoting a traditional lifestyle is feared, but older women should share their experiences with younger women to provide a balanced perspective.
  • The speaker discusses how meaningful relationships and children provide sustainable meaning, but the lack of role models in the same communication ecosystem as the audience leads to influencers promoting fame, money, and possession as ultimate values.
  • Gen Z girls are suffering because they lack raw authenticity and relatability in the content they consume, and there is a potential gap in the market for an influential female to fill that role.
  • Gen Z girls struggle with authenticity and performance online, leading to a decrease in committed relationships and an increase in casual sex and "situationships."
  • Gen Z girls are experiencing paradoxes in their lives due to conflicting messages about sex positivity, self-love, and empowerment, leading to anxiety, depression, and confusion.
• 01:20:35 🚺 Gen Z girls are suffering due to the glamorization of divorce, lack of acknowledgment of its impact on mental health, progressive parenting style, stigma, co-opted feminism, and the focus on mental health culture and industry.
  • Gen Z girls are suffering due to the glamorization of divorce in mainstream culture and the lack of acknowledgment of its impact on mental health.
  • The speaker discusses the impact of family breakdown on Gen Z girls' mental health, stating that it exacerbates problems such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and self-harm, and makes it harder for them to develop resilience and healthy coping strategies.
  • Progressive parenting style prioritizing compassion over discipline may be contributing to the suffering of Gen Z girls, and the lack of attention to the challenges faced by fathers and the negative outcomes for girls growing up without a father is concerning.
  • The fixation on stigma, particularly on the Progressive left, hinders honest conversations about issues such as family breakdown and mental health, acting as a semantic stop sign that prevents further analysis and understanding.
  • Mainstream feminism has been co-opted by corporations, promoting materialistic and consumerist values, and convincing women that they need to prioritize working for corporations and making money.
  • The focus is on the mental health culture and industry, with the idea that young people are being taught to think and talk about their mental health in the wrong way.
• 01:33:53 🚺 Gen Z girls are suffering and need tough love role models, and there is a need to change the acronym for "based British women" to avoid associations with porn.
  • Gen Z girls are suffering and need tough love role models, and there is a need to change the acronym for "based British women" to avoid associations with porn.
  • Gen Z girls are struggling, and the speaker recommends checking out her substack and Twitter for more information.

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