From Britney Spears to Lindsay Lohan, countless teen celebrities have been mistreated even at their young age. The late 90’s to 2000’s being a prime example. Countless inappropriate questions about their love life, tabloids constantly presenting them in a bad light, directors and managers abusing them, and many more. Back then, the media, and the general public, villainised these celebrities for acting or looking a certain way. But the truth of the matter was that most of them were only trying to cope with the pressures and trauma they had faced. Today, most people are beginning to see how they were wrongfully criticised and treated.

The number of teen influencers has been on the rise. Whether they gained fame from doing TikTok dances, makeup tutorials, or the lifestyle they display on Instagram, there are endless ways to gain popularity on the internet these days. However, not all publicity is necessarily good. Danielle Cohn is an infamous influencer who first gained attention on the Musical.ly platform, which now has moved to Tik Tok. She has also posted several videos on YouTube and has continued to release music. Danielle posts pictures and videos that have an adult nature regarding how she dresses, her racy YouTube video titles, and overall image on the internet.

In 2020, people began speculating on her actual age, which she claimed was 17. However, her birth certificate was revealed by a family member, which stated that she was only 14 years old. Disturbingly, based on a screenshot she shared, her largest following on Instagram were 18 to 24-year-olds and 25 to 34-year-olds.

Many videos and articles began covering this matter as many believed that it was wrong for such a young child to be making this type of content. However, many did not show concern for Danielle; instead, most of the internet began bashing her and making jokes about the situation. Later, it was revealed that something much darker was going on behind the scenes.

Jennifer Archambault, Danielle’s mother, has managed her social media accounts. This means that she fully supported and encouraged Danielle to present herself in this manner online, despite her only being a child. It does not need to be said that the internet is not the safest place where there are so many online predators. A lot of footage revealed of Jennifer controlling Danielle’s online image, which shows how truly disheartening it is to see a parent exploiting their child this way. Even though her mother claims that Danielle posts all of her content on her own, it does not eliminate the fact that she is still a minor who needs guidance.

Since its creation in 2016, TikTok has become one of the most popular social media platforms, with an estimate of 1 billion users worldwide. The platform’s main appeal is how it gives users instant gratification through its short-form videos and personalised feed. In 2022, 60% of users are between the ages of 16-24.

TikTok is dominated by teens, and many of the platform’s trends centre around appearance and looking more ‘mature’ than the average person their age. Usually in the form of ‘thirst traps’ showing more risque content with a sexual nature. Additionally, there have been multiple other instances similar to Danielle Cohn’s, where teen influencers have lied about their true age and were revealed to be much younger than they claimed. This trend of teens being exposed to mature content and emulating it online is very harmful.

Today, women have been much more confident in their sexualities due to the sex-positivity movement. But of course, with almost everything, it has its downsides. When minors post explicit pictures and videos of themselves, they are sharing child pornography and encouraging it to spread. Not to mention, they are also putting themselves at risk of being exploited and targeted by predators. This does not mean that teens, especially girls, are not allowed to feel empowered in their bodies. There are so many other ways to do that, which do not include putting themselves at risk.

Many forms of media disguise minors’ promiscuity as feminism and empowerment. When in reality, it puts them in a very vulnerable and dangerous situation where they can get preyed upon. Learning about safety, rights, and people who could exploit them is very important for teenagers on social media. It is simply wrong for minors to post NSFW content, and it is not as empowering or glamorous as some TV shows, or movies make it out to be.

Young teens feel the urge to be sexually liberated due to seeing others their age being praised for doing so, especially on apps like TikTok, which favours more ‘attractive’ looking individuals to appear on people’s feeds. This generation has had so much unsupervised access to social media and the internet from such a young age. Advertisements, influencers, videos, and more to show teens the ‘proper’ way to dress to make them feel validated and not ridiculed for being too childish. But why do we praise children for being ‘mature for their age’? What is so wrong with simply being a child? When children tend to act too grown-up, it is usually a sign of trauma that they have faced. Sadly, this is almost completely normalized.

Mature For My Age: Teens On Social Media

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