“We know just five minutes of exposure to problematic content on social media can have an immediate negative impact, so we need to think about the cumulative impact of that, which suggests that this is a problem we need to do something about,” says Dr. Diedrichs, listing signs of low self-esteem, which include girls opting out of participating in their everyday lives, not putting their hands up in the classroom, withdrawing from social events, and self-deprecation. “I heard one person refer to it as a quiet public health emergency because it affects a huge amount of people and there are detrimental impacts on health, but it doesn’t necessarily get the attention it deserves. It’s often trivialized as a silly ‘girl’s issue’ or a ‘vanity issue,’ when it’s not — it comes from low self-esteem, low self-worth, and a culture that objectifies women and sends a message that how you look is important.”
