The Dove Self-Esteem Project’s #DetoxYourFeed Campaign exposes the insidious nature of toxic beauty advice in teens’ social media feeds.
A recent study from the Dove Self Esteem Proejct has discovered that 1 in 2 girls say toxic beauty advice on social media causes low self-esteem. As a result, teens in Canada are spending increasing amounts of time on social media.
New Dove Self-Esteem Project research has proven this to be true. In fact, it turns out that half of Canadian teen girls are spending more time online than they are in person with their friends. In this regard, Dove Self-Esteem Project research has determined that the majority of girls recognize that spending less time on social media and taking control of what they scroll, is part of the solution.
Dove’s Mission
Dove is a global champion of encouraging inclusive beauty. As a result, the brand has made a conscious effort to take action towards making social media a more positive place.
The Dove Self-Esteem Project #DetoxYourFeed Campaign
Introducing, the Dove Self-Esteem Project #DetoxYourFeed campaign. The goal of this campaign is to empower teens to define their own beauty standards and choose their own influences by inviting them to unfollow anything that doesn’t make them feel good about themselves.
This will be done through a series of films, educational content, and partnerships with inspiring voices. The campaign also encourages necessary conversations to be had between parents, caregivers and teens about the dangers of toxic beauty advice.
“We’ve identified a clear problem that is eroding the self-esteem of our girls and needs immediate attention and action. We created this #DetoxYourFeed campaign to not only raise awareness around the insidious nature of toxic beauty advice, but to also help parents navigate tough conversations and empower teens to unfollow content that makes them feel bad about themselves,” says Leandro Barreto, Global Vice President of Dove. “While it may be a bit overwhelming at times, we hope it will contribute to important conversations that lead to a more positive experience for teens on social media.”
Behind The Campaign
The brand’s campaign film, Toxic Influence showcases Canadian moms and their teens engage in a dialogue around harmful beauty advice on social media. The film highlights dangerous topics like “fitspo,” “thinspo” and the promotion of elective cosmetic procedures to young girls. Moms who participated were shocked to learn that this type of harmful beauty advice has become normalized for their daughters. As a result, they were compelled to sit down with their daughters and detox their feeds together.
Canadian Registered Psychologist, Dr. Vanessa Lapointe, who has used her expertise to support families through children’s eyes, says “This campaign is important, as increased screen time has surpassed the time young girls spend with their friends in person. It contextualizes the deceptive nature of harmful beauty advice that’s become normalized in teens’ feeds. Research now shows that half of girls say social media causes low self-esteem and ongoing exposure to this type of content has the potential to have a negative and lasting impact.”
Dove believes no one should follow anyone into thinking they aren’t beautiful and empowering teens to #DetoxYourFeed will help build the body confidence and self-esteem of 3.5 million girls in Canada, and a quarter billion girls worldwide by 2030.
Check out Dove.com/Detoxify to watch Dove’s NEW Toxic Influence film and learn how to #DetoxYourFeed.
How To #DetoxYourFeed
It was determined that 70 per cent of girls would like their parents to talk to them about how to manage idealized beauty posts. As a result, the Dove Self-Esteem Project has developed academically-validated resources and tools to help parents navigate important conversations with their kids and empower teens to #DetoxYourFeed:
“Detox Your Feed: The Parents Guide” – a three-minute educational film for parents, caregivers and mentors on facilitating conversations with young people about the harms of idealized beauty content on social media.
“The Confidence Kit” – free Dove Self-Esteem Project workbook and tool featuring a new section, “Detox Your Feed: Talking to Your Kids About Toxic Social Media Advice.”
The Installation
To further demonstrate the impact of toxic beauty advice, Dove has launched an immersive public installation at CF Sherway Gardens in Etobicoke, Ontario to provide consumers the opportunity to experience the insidious nature of a young girl’s social media feed and offer resources to parents to aid in the solution.
The installation is open to public from April 27 – May 15, 2022.
Share Your Experience
Canadians are encouraged to share their experience and help the brand change beauty by using the hashtag #DetoxYourFeed on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok tagging @Dove and #DoveSelfEsteemProject.
Published by HOLR Magazine.