The Dark Side Of Social Media: How They Perpetuate The Label Of 'Dumb' For Women

The rampant use of social media in our lives has led to multiple levels of problems in our lives; and in almost each aspect; right from dating to fitness to politics or corporate communications. 

It is becoming more and more evident that, in spite of their many advantages, women and girls suffer disproportionately and differently from online harms than do boys and men.

These include misogyny and gender-based abuse, sexist stereotyping in online advertising content and algorithmic targeting, negative body images brought on by comparison with idealized images of women, control enabled by technology, economic and political marginalization, and the misogynistic dehumanization and degradation of women.

Some of the newest trends shared by Nishtha Khurana, Counselling Psychologist at Lissun that have contributed to this wave of negative perceptions are as follows: 

1. The “Brat Girl Summer”: With this trend, people embraced and applauded a fearless, and occasionally rebellious attitude during "Brat Girl Summer." It featured bold self-expression, playful disobedience, and a carefree, enjoyable outlook on life. Instead of using the term "brat" to refer to bad behavior, they used it to describe a cheeky and vivacious personality. 

2.  The “Very Demure, Very Mindful”: After a beauty influencer created the phrase to characterize her subtle, understated makeup look, the "Very Demure, Very Mindful" trend went viral on social media. Memes and movies that addressed everything from fashion to commonplace circumstances were sparked by its rapid growth. Again, glorifying the idea that women are nothing but dumb fashionistas; who care  too much about their looks. 

3.  Some more contemporary trends like; 'Hot Girl', 'It Girl', 'Clean Girl', and 'Coquette' have created a whole new social media wave. For instance, "Girl Dinners" featured meals made with whatever was in the refrigerator, while "Hot Girl Walks" inspired women to go for empowering walks. The "Clean Girl" movement was all about the natural, makeup-free image, while the "Coquette" fashion embraced girlhood with bows and feminine accents. As a series of girl-focused social media fads continued, trends like "Girl Math" and "It Girl" emerged.

Although these trends could appear playful and carefree, they nevertheless frequently exclude particular groups and place women in constrained roles and leave them behind with a label to live with.

Interestingly, women are at the center of all of these phenomena. Men's behavior and attire are governed by few, if any, comparable trends. The no-shave November trend, in which men refrain from shaving their beards for a month, is a popular one among males, but it scarcely influences their appearance, way of life, or personalities. Men are rarely under the same pressure from social media to follow seasonal trends, which exposes a double standard in which fashion and lifestyle trends target women far more aggressively.

These trends frequently become extremely popular and make an influence all around the world. Since a large portion of our lives are shared on social media, they frequently establish the norm for what women should wear and do at that time. In turn, causing a lot of psychological harm to women in the form of low self esteem, self- doubt or body image issues.

There is little doubt that current trends do not allow for a wide range of individual expressions. They restrict the freedom for various forms of womanhood to coexist by confining women into inflexible categories, which makes many feel excluded or pressured to conform.