To make systemic change, in 2023 The Dove
Self-Esteem Project partnered with cultural icon & people's advocate,
Lizzo, Common Sense Media and ParentsTogether Action to advance legislation
around social media safety for kids.
The Dove Self-Esteem Project announced actions to address the
current rise in youth mental health issues linked to social media use with the
Campaign for Kids Online Safety. While social media can be a force for good, it
is also one of the biggest threats to young people's mental health today.
Presently, social media is primarily left to self-regulation for youth and their
guardians, and studies show its inherent link to negative youth mental wellness
outcomes. In fact, the 2023 Dove Self-Esteem Project Research showed 8 in 10
youth mental health specialists say social media is fueling a mental health
crisis.
Additional statistics from the NEW 2023 Dove Self-Esteem Project Research
for Kids Online Safety1 found:
- 80%
of young people believe that people their age are addicted to social media
- More
than 50% of young people say social media makes them and their peers feel
anxious
- 7
in 10 young people (ages 10-17) have been exposed to content encouraging
weight loss/body transformation on social media
- 76%
of young people in the U.S. say social media can make young people want to
change their appearance
- 51%
of young people (ages 14-17) have been exposed to content encouraging
restricted eating or disordered eating behaviors
- Over
half of youth mental health specialists say exposure to harmful beauty
content on social media can lead to physical consequences like disordered
eating or self-harm
- Over
half (58%) of American parents believe the only way to get social media
platforms to change is to implement legislation in the space
Since 2004, Dove has been building body confidence and self-esteem in young
people through the Dove Self-Esteem Project, and to-date, has educated more
than 94 million youth globally. In 2023, the Dove Self-Esteem Project evolved its mission to help make social media a more positive place by
standing for safer social media design with the Campaign for Kids' Online
Safety.
READ MORE: Our girls are not okay—but they are reachable
"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. If there isn't real change, young people
will continue to pay with their wellbeing." explains Alessandro Manfredi,
Chief Marketing Officer for Dove. "We have a responsibility to act and
support a safer environment on social media, helping protect young people's
mental health. This means going beyond individual interventions to drive
systemic change."
The Dove Self-Esteem Project partnered with Cultural Icon & People's
Advocate Lizzo, Common Sense Media and ParentsTogether Action to advance the 2023 Kids Online
Safety Act (KOSA), which supports updated design standards, safeguards and
tools that protect kids' overall experiences online, and would limit their
exposure to toxic beauty content proven to erode their self-esteem. The
KOSA bill, which passed on July 30, 2024, outlines more transparency on social media design and black box algorithms,
including:
- Disabling
addictive product features and opt-out of algorithmic recommendations
- Creating
a duty for social media platforms to prevent and mitigate harms to minors,
such as content promoting of self-harm, suicide, eating disorders, substance
abuse, and sexual exploitation
- Requiring
social media platforms to perform an annual independent audit assessing
risks to minors
- Providing
experts access to critical data to foster research regarding harms to the
safety and well-being of minors.
"Over the past decade, we have witnessed a youth mental health
crisis —skyrocketing suicide rates, hospitalizations for self-harm, and
depression among children and teens," Jim Steyer, CEO of Common Sense
Media. "Real change requires partnership, advocacy, and a
commitment to do the work on the ground. We are proud to partner with
Dove to advance our mission to require platforms to make safety the default and
ensure social media is a safer place for today's generation."
READ MORE: How to prevent cyberbullying with technology
"Social media is supposed to be a place where people can express
themselves and be a source for beauty confidence, not anxiety, that's why I'm
partnering with Dove again and calling on platforms to do more to make social
media safe for young people," Cultural Icon and People's Advocate, Lizzo
says. "Seeing the negative impact social media is having on youth mental
health today is devastating and has to stop.
As part of the Campaign for Kids' Online Safety, Dove released a campaign film, "Cost of Beauty: A Dove Film," chronicling the real
story of a young person whose mental health has been impacted by social media.
The film, intended to illustrate the scale and impact of the issue and drive
urgent action to protect the next generation, was developed in consultation
with mental health and disordered eating experts at National Alliance for Eating Disorders and Project HEAL.
About the Research:
NEW 2023 Dove Self-Esteem Project Research for Kids Online Safety was
conducted via online survey by Edelman DXI, a global, multidisciplinary
research, analytics, and data consultancy, in the USA, UK and Canada between
January – February 2023 with 1,318 girls, 556 boys, 1,520 parents, 4,046 of the
general population and 154 youth mental health specialists (total sample size
of 7,594 respondents.
About Dove
Dove started its life in 1957 in the US, with the launch of the Beauty
Bar, with its patented blend of mild cleansers and ¼ moisturizing cream. Dove's
heritage is based on moisturization, and it is proof not promises that
enabled Dove to grow from a Beauty Bar into one of the world's most
beloved beauty brands. Women have always been our inspiration and since
the beginning, we have been wholly committed to providing superior care to all
women and to championing real beauty in our
advertising. Dove believes that beauty is for everyone. That beauty
should be a source of confidence and not anxiety. Dove's mission is to
inspire women everywhere to develop a positive relationship with the way they
look and realize their personal potential for beauty.
For 60 years, Dove has been committed to broadening the narrow definition of
beauty in the work they do. With the 'Dove Real Beauty Pledge,' Dove vows
to:
- Portray
women with honesty, diversity and respect. We feature women of different
ages, sizes, ethnicities, hair color, type, and style.
- Portray
women as they are in real life, with zero digital distortion and all
images approved by the women they feature.
- Help
young people build body confidence and self-esteem through the Dove
Self-Esteem Project, the biggest provider of self-esteem education in the
world.
About Unilever
Unilever is one of the world's leading suppliers of Beauty & Personal
Care, Home Care, and Foods & Refreshment products, with sales in over 190
countries and products used by 2.5 billion people every day. We have 149,000
employees and generated sales of €50.7 billion in 2020. Over half of our
footprint is in developing and emerging markets. We have around 400 brands
found in homes all over the world – including iconic global brands like Dove,
Lifebuoy, Knorr, Magnum, OMO and Surf; and other brands such as Love Beauty
& Planet, Hourglass, Seventh Generation and The Vegetarian Butcher.
Our vision is to be the global leader in sustainable business and to
demonstrate how our purpose-led, future-fit business model drives superior
performance. We have a long tradition of being a progressive, responsible
business. It goes back to the days of our founder William Lever, who
launched the world's first purposeful brand, Sunlight Soap, more than 100 years
ago, and it is at the heart of how we run our company today.
The Unilever Compass, our sustainable business strategy, is set out to help
us deliver superior performance and drive sustainable and responsible growth,
while:
- Improving
the health of the planet
- Improving
people's health, confidence, and wellbeing
- Contributing
to a fairer and more socially inclusive world
While there is still more to do, we are proud to have been recognized in
2020 as a sector leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and - for the
tenth-consecutive year - as the top ranked company in the 2020
GlobeScan/SustainAbility Sustainability Leaders survey.
For more information about Unilever and our brands, please visit www.unilever.com.
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