Earlier this week, the #DontJudgeChallenge took off on Instagram, Twitter and Vine, urging users to put an end to body shaming. The fad had participants recording themselves at close angles, wearing make-up to appear unattractive and later, transitioning into their photogenic best. The trend — which began as an initiative to challenge body shaming — inadvertently ended up reinforcing the issue. Experts we spoke to believe that while such “challenges” may seem harmless, they can negatively impact a teenager’s self-image — and have deeply damaging effects.
Teens seem more susceptible to taking on such challenges online — without being aware of the larger cause — because they’re at a stage when they’re open to experimenting. “Teenagers are looking for acceptance during this phase (and participating in social media fads like this one is a way to gain that),” says life coach Chetna Mehrotra. “What they fail to realise, is that seeking acceptance defeats the idea of developing a unique identity of their own.” She adds that social media gives them the platform to present their views, be acknowledged or get attention.
There’s perhaps yet another reason why teens are more likely to take up such online fads (like the “Kylie Jenner pout challenge” where teens sucked on glasses to get her pouty look) is because they suffer from self-image issues. “As teenagers, they will find a part of themselves that they are unhappy with. But it could grow into a bigger problem if they can never find themselves attractive,” says life coach Malti Bhojwani. “When their self-image is questioned or commented negatively on — as happens with these online challenges — it can make the teenager bitter and defensive. Young minds are so sensitive that they could carry these thoughts right into their adulthood, and in turn, that might affect their self-image.”
Of course, some of these online trends do have, at their core, good intentions. For instance, the #wakeupcall challenge saw celebrities like Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell and Tyra Banks post makeup-free selfies on Instagram and Twitter to raise awareness and money for children in Syria. But teens who follow the fad may miss that larger cause/picture, feels psychotherapist Dr Shefali Batra. “A social media campaign that helps raise thousands of dollars seems justified, but it is important for teenagers who follow it to understand the larger cause.
It can be damaging to a teenager who spends hours on make-up to realise that they do not look half as beautiful as some of their idols right out of bed. Here, parents need to put in efforts to build emotionally healthy teens.” The good news is that most of these trends are fleeting, so even if your teen happens to be blindly following one of these campaigns, their participation may not last long. Social media expert and founder of Igenero, Aditya Gupta observes that given that the fleeting nature of social media, trends die or become irrelevant. He says, “These challenges too die like other social media trends. However, the individual needs to figure out the root cause/idea behind such campaign and then take a call if he/she wants to get involved or not.”
