The phrase social media girls recently came to be extremely popular in the modern digital environment. It consists of those girls who are active in different social networks. A large number of them are involved in internet communities referred to as social media girls forums. Since girls have to wade into these communities, parents need to be familiar with the discriminatory settings their daughters venture into, the motivations which lead them to doing so, and how they can stay safe.
What are “social media girls forums?”
“Social media girls forums, as the name suggests, are digital spaces specifically built for girls and young women where they can freely share their ideas and express feelings.”
You know, such online forums also existed in the 90s under the name of the Bulletin Board System (an online message board), limited to specific websites. In contrast, today’s social media girl forums aren’t limited to one specific platform. But you can find them as a private group on different social media platforms.
For instance, it can be a Facebook group, a Discord server, a TikTok community, and an Instagram group chat. Or even a special website made for people’s interests, like fan communities or study groups, etc.
- Open versus Closed: Open forums are forums where everybody can join freely. One can take online Facebook groups or threads on Reddit. Closed forums have the advantage that only members are approved or invited, enhancing secrecy to some greater degree and allowing control.
- Moderated vs. Unmoderated: In moderated spaces there are reserved administrators or volunteers to administer the rules and delete the harmful posts and create a healthy atmosphere. Unmoderated forums might not have control, thus likely to include some inappropriate content or bullying.
- Interest-Based vs. General Chat: A lot of groups are niche-based such as makeup, fashion, gaming, or activism. Others are general in discussion where people discuss topics about everyday life, talk of issues, or advise each other.
Why do teens join social media girls’ forums?
- Finding Friends and Belonging: First of all, there is a possibility that your daughter may have some problems in her life, and you might not give her time. Thus, they feel alone and so join such a platform where they find a lot of friends to whom they share their problems and feel happy.
- Discovering Identity and Expressing Themselves: Keep in mind that teenage is the stage where kids are actually developing and figuring out themselves. It’s a fact that you only know about yourself if you share your opinions with others, and online forums give you that opportunity.
- Learning and Seeking Support: Next, as we mentioned earlier that some online forums are related to one specific topic. So, suppose your kids want to learn about health issues, he/she would join this learn thing. Also, they also have experts or professionals, thus they also take guidance from them.
- Valuing Privacy and Anonymity: Last but not least, the best thing about the online forums is that they give a chance to kids to share their feelings related to every topic without the fear of being judged.
How do girls use social media?
Nowadays, you will find most of the teens big active on social media. Also, you will be shocked to know the survey results of PMC. They have published in their report that more than 1/3rd of teens use social media for almost 5+ hours daily. And you know they further revealed that girls spend more time than boys.
Block the risks before they arise!
So, being a parent, you might be worried that what your daughters mostly do on social media is that they remain active for so long there. Well! Don’t take stress, here is the breakdown of the activities of mostly girls on social media.
- Sharing photos and videos: Firstly, you might have noticed while scrolling social media that girls have posted their selfies or videos of their outfits or even fun moments. In their opinion, they do so to show their personality, that they are very confident.
- Connecting with friends: Also, social media apps like Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, etc., also prove to be the best as they allow girls to chat with their friends. Keep in mind that mostly girls are very introverted in their families and thus can’t show their feelings. Thus, with their friends, they share everything.
- Following Influencers and Trends: Moreover, most of the girls often like influencers ( often they call them their crush). So they use social media to see their videos or follow their pages. However, they would start comparing their life with theirs and things would create problems.
Risks and challenges in social media girls’ forums
Next, keep in mind that although social media girls’ forums help teens express themselves and provide a way to learn new things. However, not all online communities are safe at all. They pose many risks for teens because of the lack of moderation.
- Access to harmful content: First of all, the biggest challenge on joining social media forums is that most have no restrictions regarding who can join the community. Thus, not only girls, but also boys may join this community and may tease the girls with posting harmful content.
- Privacy concerns: Moreover, it’s a common issue that mostly teenage girls unknowingly share personal information like their real name, address, etc. Thus, strangers may misuse this information to harass them. For instance, they blackmail them, they would come to their house and expose them, etc.
- Affect on emotional and mental well-being: However, all of the above-mentioned risks especially affect your kids’ mental well-being. Teenage girls are very emotionally sensitive, thus may stuff their brains with stress and become depressed. Thus, you will notice changes in their behavior like mood swings, feeling low confidence, or even despair with life.
The hottest social media girls forums
Now, let’s understand which social media forums girls mostly join. You will know their topics of discussion, and also also they they are also so popular. So, being a parent, if you feel any suspicious activity, then you might take protective measures to ensure a safe digital experience.
Subreddits at Reddit are living discussion centers. Subreddits such as r/MakeupAddiction or r/TeenGirls give girls the opportunity to share advice and trends. It has diverse themes and a comparatively free form, which appeals to huge focused audiences. Depending on the rules of subreddits, moderation occurs.
GirlsAskGuys
This site stimulates deliberations on relationships, dating, and social issues in both males and females. It involves teens concerned with gender relationships and real life.
BeautyTalk (MakeupAlley)
An exclusive beauty website. Girls post makeup advice, product reviews, and skincare tips. The focus on user-generated content creates trust and community.
The Fashion Spot
Fashion-oriented members post about trends, designers, styling tips, and tricks. It is also a motivation and means to seek recognition among peers.
MakeupAddiction (Reddit)
An active subreddit consisting of thousands of posts about makeup art, product reviews, and tutorials. Moderation makes discussions positive and friendly.
Teen Vogue Community
A formal platform to focus on the youth. It also works towards empowerment, inclusivity, and learning about cultural and social issues.
Instagram / TikTok Influencer Groups
Popular influencers create spaces either privately or publicly. Fans engage in fan competitions, contribute fan artwork, and talk about fads.
Chicisimo
An outfit app and outlet where users can post outfits, request advice, and find inspiration. It is a combination of e-commerce and social networking.
Pinterest Community Groups
Pinterest organizes groups around interests such as DIY, fashion, and art. Girls share ideas and work together to be able to create inspiration.
Parental strategies for ensuring online safety
A survey conducted by Dove revealed that 80% of girls feel that social media negatively affects their self-esteem. The report emphasizes the need for positive representation and empowerment of young girls on social platforms. It wouldn’t be fair to completely restrict your teens from using such a forum, as it would hinder their exploration. Thus, being a parent, what you can do is to ensure a safe online atmosphere for them.
Educate kids about staying safe online: The first thing that you can do to ensure your teens’ digital safety is to educate them about the online risks. Gently talk to your kids and tell them never to share their personal details on any of online forums.
Leveraging parental control tools: Next, you can also make use of FlashGet Kids‘ parental control. It acts as virtual assistant for parents for keeping them updated about kids’ whereabouts in real-time.
- Screen mirroring: You can see live what type of communities or forums your kids have been using.
- Keyword detection and alerts: It also allows you to set keywords related to age-inappropriate content on social media apps. Thus, if kids try to use such words, you will get an instant alert.
- App blocker: It also allows you to block inappropriate apps or websites. Thus ensuring safe browsing.
Conclusion
In short, social media girls’ forums are basically designed with the intention of giving an opportunity to girls or young women to share their opinions with others. Thus, it boosts their self-image and makes them confident, which most girls lack. Keep in mind that self-confidence doesn’t come just with education, but it comes when you interact with others.
FAQs
Absolutely yes, your daughter can join girls-only online forums. It helps boost their self-image and allows them to explore themselves. However, you have to stay cautious and actively monitor their activities, and also educate them about the safe use.
To check whether the social media girls’ forum is safe or not, you have to look at multiple things. For instance, ensure that the community has an active moderator and has only age-appropriate discussion topics.
First of all, don’t panic, online forums also have the option of reporting the harm. So make use of this. Also, at this point your daughter needs emotional support to come out of this situation. However, to prevent such a happening in the future, install the FlashGet Kids parental control tool.
