We all need to get off social media.

I feel so frustrated for the young Black girl in this video. Black women pioneered a natural hair movement on KZfaq between 2006-present that had its strong years, but has waned since the late 2010s. The lace-front, 'buss-down' wigs, especially as they were adopted out of the entertainment industry and became mass produced, have become crutches. The 'look' for Black women still doesn't embrace our natural features. It's hard to do in a society that continues hair discrimination in education and employment, as well as social codes, even within the Black community, that ridicule Black women for their natural beauty.

1:03 When she revealed her age of 15, I was shocked since I had assumed she was in her mid-twenties. Children nowadays are growing up too quickly. Young girls need to understand that the social media influencers they follow are older, not teenagers like themselves.

Growing up nowadays seems so hard with the prevalence of social media 😢 I feel very bad for young girls and teenagers.

This is suuuuch a good sociological format, I want to sit down and just have these discussions in person to then post like this!!!! Extremely eye opening, thank you for the gentleness of this content

It is fantastic to have these conversations and as an older Gen-Zer I'm glad to see kids comfortable talking about the bullsh*t they have to deal with! I just want to note for adults in the comment section that banning social media for kids is not a fix to the problems mentioned. Social media, although most 'algorithms' are increasingly skewed to incite divisions, is a tool for communication and community. It is only through community that we will ever be able to acknowledge, in a widespread manner, and address the problems we collectively face. Since community centers, libraries, parks, and even schools themselves are being restricted and defunded, it is essential that we hold on to social media. Young people have chosen it as our meeting place, in the absence of others big enough for our ideas. The real issue that we're facing here is societal expectations of beauty. Our streets are still plastered with billboards enforcing the current standard of beauty. Even on social media it is the emphasis on product, sales, and advertising (both from brands and creators trying to gain the favour of brands by elevating their numbers) that saturates our senses with this narrow standard of beauty. Brandy Melville uses the same tactics companies have been using for decades: deprive their customers of feeling 'good enough, reward only those who conform to your economic model (making one size requires slightly less effort), and profit as people's perceived scarcity of not the item, but the type of person that can wear it, makes them more likely to desire it. This doesn't work without sponsored ads by either big-name celebrities or social media stars. Fight ads. Fight exclusion. Don't burn down the community center.

I’m a millennial (1993) and this broke my heart. I feel you ladies. Just know things get better as you get older if you just remember this too shall pass. Us ladies will always have it harder, the only thing we can control is how kind we are to one another. Every single lady in this video is drop dead beautiful and more importantly I can tell have sweet and sensitive souls.

Thank you for magnifying their voices!

this is so sad I just want to give them all a hug

Such lovely young ladies, it’s heartbreaking.

This shows nothing has improved. I'm older and had to go through the popularity of heroin chic. Kate Moss shattered us because her body was so unattainable for most no matter how much diet and exercise someone did. Society is designed to make girls and women feel inadequate. You'd think it would have improved by now, but obviously hasn't.

Great discussion, the present generation has it hard because they just can't escape it. I came up during the Seventeen magazine and you had to buy it. I knew there would not be someone like me in the covers, but they provided general information that was helpful and the latest trends kept you in the know. As blacks we were not focused on our bodies but as the young lady said it was about the hair and it was relaxers or hot combs, no weave, wigs or extension (you would have gotten laugh out of school). Now there are a lot of option for shopping for items to keep you styled no matter what size you are. The focus for these young ladies should be on getting all you can for an independent adventurous future because it doesn't matter what you look like when it said and done relationships are not dependable (you see models and celebrities get left all the time) and you need to be equipe to take care of yourself financially and physically. And if you find that special someone, you are not with them because you need them, but you want them in your life. Thanks for sharing and blessings to you and all in the days to come.

I love the premise of this video and SO appreciate the young folks who spoke up and shared what they're feeling and seeing. I wish young me could've seen this and hope young folks out there can see it and fight the bullsh*t of social media and body stigmatizing!! thank you for this!!

its honestly not just brandy Melville that’s ruining these girls self esteem! its like every brand!

I’m saddened to see that some things don’t seem to change. I’m a woman in my 50s and this all sounds like my friends and I talking way back went, except media was even whiter back then.

@stylelikeu Would you consider making a sister video with young folx who ARE NOT on social media and how their lives are affected / not affected by fashion + social norms? (If you can find youth that are not on social, that is??? 😅).

Very powerful episode. Would love to hear these girls again

I'm assuming because these girlies are so young they don't have the wisdom to filter content and understand that it is part of their responsibilities as social media users to do so. All of the things they mentioned that made them feel insecure, I'm thinking why aren't they following (insert person brand etc)? There are SO many inspiring beautiful diverse women and brands on social media that don't center white waifs. I really encourage them to seek out what they're looking for and broaden their horizons. The world is massive and beauty is exponential!💕

The girl in the green hoodie and denim jacket speaks so eloquently while being so real at the same time, i really related to some of the stuff she was saying. This is so important.

Thank you to all these girls for sharing.❤ I'm the mom of a 9 year old girl and it's important for me to hear your stories to understand what it's like for girls in 2024. Sending love for you all!

I’m literally talking about this in the vlog I’m posting rn

thank you for giving people a voice 💜

I’m 23 and had social media since I was 12. But back in 2013/14, we would only see our friends’ posts. The algorithm didn’t exist as we know it today, but now social media is not just our friends. TikTok is giving us 300 pretty, skinny, clear skin athletic girls before you even eat breakfast, none of which we know. It’s really not the same even in the last 10 years

My heart 💔 😢

We really should learn not to care what other people think about our looks. Everyone is different, everyone is attracted to something different. I have Instagram again, and I don't post pictures of myself. Only of art and nature. I also don't follow any celebrities or fashion stuff. Instagram can be a very creative place, if you want it to. But in the end, no social media is probably best.

Gen-Z has my sympathy... I haven't followed dress codes since I graduated high school in 1979 except for adhering to Tudor- Elizabethan dress styles when working at renaissance faires and that is historical costuming. I fit in at renaissance faires but I don't fit in anywhere else. We all need to do better... to help others be comfortable in their own bodies.

It’s weird to me that Brandy Melville is still popular in 2024. Their clothes aren’t anything special.

leave shakira alone!!

Instagram and twitter has been pushing pro ana content to me seemingly out of nowhere. I don’t search for that but all of a sudden it is flooding my explore page?

I love you guys but honestly. It’s not that deep. I’ve literally never seen a brandy add. You can choose not to too.

I wish I had seen this video when I was a teenager 🤍 such an important thing to talk about xx