Adolescence is a period of life when teenagers develop senses of identity and belonging.
In that context, social media has become a prominent environment for teenagers to
exercise their self-expressions, as they have been spending increasing amounts of time
on these platforms. Previous research suggests, however, that adolescents’ self-
presentation on social media may trigger tendencies of self-objectification and sexualisation.
These conducts can entail various mental health disturbances ...
Adolescence is a period of life when teenagers develop senses of identity and belonging.
In that context, social media has become a prominent environment for teenagers to
exercise their self-expressions, as they have been spending increasing amounts of time
on these platforms. Previous research suggests, however, that adolescents’ self-
presentation on social media may trigger tendencies of self-objectification and sexualisation.
These conducts can entail various mental health disturbances – especially among girls.
Through an ethnographic immersion in the TikTok profiles of Luara Fonseca and Gabrielle
Severino (a.k.a. Melody), this research explored the sexualised self-presentation of teenage
influencers on TikTok and how their audiences reacted to this content. The study explores
the extensive impact that social media platforms may take on young people. Its findings
may generate insight on how to make social media a safer environment for young people.
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