The Dove Self-Esteem Project Partners With Lizzo to Help Make Social Media a Safer Place for Teens

If you’ve ever wanted to change your look because of images you’ve seen on social media, know you’re not alone. According to data from the Dove Self-Esteem Project Research for Online Kids Safety, seventy-five percent of young people in the United States say social media can make them want to change their appearance. 

The study highlights the growing negative impact that social media has on the way young adults view themselves. It's a major problem – eight in ten youth mental health specialists say that social media is fueling a mental health crisis. This is why Dove decided to partner with Lizzo, Common Sense Media, and ParentsTogether Action to shed light on the 2023 revision of the Kids Online Safety Act. 

The KOSA Act was designed to make social media a safer place for younger people. Over the past few years, experts have continued to see a rise across America in suicide rates, hospitalizations for self-harm, and depression among children and teens, which correlates to their time spent on various social media platforms. If passed, the bill will require tech companies to have a “duty of care” to shield young people from content that could be harmful. 

The bill was first introduced to Congress in 2022, but a few members of the Senate turned it down. This year it has been given a second chance, thanks to support from Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), and all parties involved are working hard to make sure it gets passed this time around. 

To bring more awareness around the bill, the Dove Self-Esteem team launched a campaign film, Cost of Beauty: A Dove Film (you can view it below), which tells the story of a young person whose mental health changed drastically over the years by social media. The film does a great job of portraying the consequences of harmful beauty trends and social media challenges, which have been the cause of several deaths across the country. 

The Dove Self-Esteem team also put on a forum for change and brought together youth, parents, mental health experts, professors, and Lizzo for a live event at the Boys and Girls Club in Santa Monica. The event included meaningful conversations, and heartbreaking stories about how harmful social media platforms can be to young adults.

Lizzo even shared a few words and talked about her traumatizing experiences on social media a few years ago when she was being bullied by trolls on Twitter. That led her to take a break from the platform for an entire year back in 2020. 

courtesy of Dove

Getty Images

“Social media is supposed to be a place where people can express themselves and be a source for beauty and confidence, not anxiety," Lizzo said in a press statement for Dove. "That’s why I’m partnering with Dove again and calling on platforms to do more to make social media safe for young people. Seeing the negative impact social media has on youth mental health today is devastating and has to stop.” 

So how exactly can The KOSA Act make social media become a safer place? The bill seeks to enforce specific tools and safeguards that put the interest of teens first. This would come in the form of minors having various options to protect their information, disable addictive product features, opt out of algorithm recommendations, and give parents new control options. Dr. Nina Vasan, Stanford psychiatrist and social media design expert, also shared at the live event that the amount of time young people spend on social media can be linked to harmful behavior. “There’s new research that shows that up to one hour a day can improve your mental health and well-being, but after the one hour a day, it all goes downhill,” said Dr. Vasan during the forum.  

While the bill may seem like an easy and sensible thing to pass, progress is not being made fast enough, and there have been numerous cases of social media incidents that have led to young adults losing their lives. TikTok trend challenges such as the "Blackout Challenge” and the “Benadryl Challenge” have been the cause behind the deaths of numerous young adults, including 10-year-old Nylah Anderson, whose mother was also in attendance at the live event. 

Between all the stories, the stats, and truths told about the real-life impacts of unrealistic beauty standards on social media, it's clear that there is a need for strict rules and regulations on social media. So we’re happy to see big beauty companies like Dove take action to push the mission forward to get the KOSA Act approved. If you’re interested in helping to pass the bill, you can sign the online petition here. 

“Dove has a long-term commitment to bringing positive change in beauty and taking action towards making social media a more positive place with campaigns like #NoDigitalDistortion, Reverse Selfie/Selfie Talk, and #DetoxYourFeed. While certain aspects of social media can promote creativity and connection for young people, data has shown toxic content online is harming the mental health of today’s youth,” said Alessandro Manfredi, Chief Marketing Officer for Dove, in a press statement. “If there isn’t real change, young people will continue to pay with their well-being.”