One of my favorite organizations, The Female Lead, performed comprehensive research to address the worry about social media’s impact on teen wellness. The goal was to explore changing what teens consume on social media, rather than restricting it. This is a powerful approach to influence. Redirecting, instead of restricting, is a way of finding the YES when others might just resort to No.
The research revealed positive outcomes when introducing new, diverse female role models into the social media feed of girls aged 14 to 18 years old. Positive effects from Social Media? Now we’re talking.
The study concluded that there is causation between following positive female role models and having higher and more focused personal and career aspirations. Bam!
Moms and dads, listen to this:
Offering your female teens alternative options of women to follow on Social Media disrupts their homogeneity of their social channels and offers the alternative of better content related to their interests and ambitions.
The most inspiring result is that participants decided to alter their social media habits for better mental health, re-thinking who they followed, and removing or un-following anyone they recognized as harming their self-esteem.
My take?
This doesn’t just apply to teens. We’re all susceptible to the effects of negative social media, and curating a set of positive and diverse role models is a necessary practice for all high performers. No matter your age or stage in life, influential leaders live on a media diet of knowledge, wisdom, good humor, and inspiration. We must make it a habit of seeking out those who are lighting the way for a future we want to live. This habit is a game changer for all, and perhaps most effective for teens.
And as always, everything that’s good starts at home.
With love,
Mari Carmen
