CHALLENGES FOR TEEN GIRLS

Though teen girls have always faced immense pressure, today’s generation is encountering different challenges than earlier ones.

Rockler presents an overview that’s separated into chapters on anxiety, social media, body image, cyberbullying, and getting and providing help. While many stressors have long been around, social media and isolation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic are new. The author summarizes important findings showing how the pandemic has adversely affected how teens socialize and negotiate friendships. In addition, anxiety in the form of school avoidance has also increased as students have reverted from virtual to in-person learning, a mental health crisis that some schools have handled punitively. Exposure to perfectly curated social media content has also contributed to unrealistic comparisons and heightened feelings of insecurity, amplified by cyberbullying, which can be vicious in its anonymity. Rockler presents this information in a direct voice, one that is accessible both to teen girls themselves and to adults who need to understand what teens are contending with. This concise but thorough guide also touches on the body positivity movement and the impact of racism and homophobia, closing on a positive note with a chapter that reassures readers that they’re not alone and directs them to avenues of help. Color photographs showing a diverse range of girls enhance and break up the text.

A helpful volume that presents useful research to support teen girls and the adults in their lives.