3 Pop Songs That Tackle Media Influence on Self Perception in the Digital Age

Social media and the culture surrounding it has become an integral part of how we express ourselves as individuals, but it has also become the lens through which we view ourselves. Its become the norm to compare yourself to carefully curated profiles with edited pictures only showing you the most beautiful parts of someone’s life.

Platforms like Instagram and TikTok can be very toxic environments, especially for younger audiences. Research has shown that this can further be narrowed down as something that is significantly harmful to the mental health of girls, according to Jean Twenge, Jonathan Haidt, and Kevin Cummins of the Washington Post. 

“For girls, in particular, the correlation between mental health and social media use is larger than that between mental health and binge drinking, early sexual activity, hard drug use, being suspended from school, marijuana use, lack of exercise, being stopped by police, and carrying a weapon,” said The Washington Post writers Twenge, Haidt, and Cummins.

This common comparison is a very concerning and complex phenomenon for future generations to come seeing as it can take a toll on individual mental health. There are also general media pressures that can influence how individuals are perceived and how individuals perceive themselves. 

This is most evident in the stratosphere of celebrities and influencers, yet it is something that exists in our everyday lives whether we give it validity or not. It is a topic that warrants attention, and here is a list of songs that help bring awareness to how social media influences the judgments we make about ourselves. 

1. Jealousy, Jealousy by Oliva Rodrigo

I believe Olivia Rodrigo to be an exceptional artist for her capability to convey the universal concepts of young adulthood through her lyrics, music, and visual art. Her album SOUR was one of the best compilations of Pop to come out of 2021. 

Rodrigo is brutally vulnerable and honest with her lyrics and conveys how her personal experiences have helped shape her view of the world. The song “jealousy, jealousy” sticks out in particular for its vivid depiction of how social media can be tormenting and harmful to her self-perception.

Lyrics like, “Co- comparison is killing me slowly / I think I think too much bout kids who don’t know me”, give insight into how she is susceptible to the same influences of the internet and social media.

2. Heather by Conan Gray

The hit song “Heather” made waves across the internet for how relatable it is. Fans of the song would find themselves relating to Gray, and to his lyrics which took on a deeper meaning in the grand scheme of comparison culture. 

In an interview with Genius Gray talks about how the song is about someone he was in love with in high school. Although the song isn’t explicitly about the nature of jealousy and comparison that exists on the internet, many fans perceived it that way and related to those feelings. 

“Everyone in life has a Heather. Everyone has that one person that you can’t help it, you’re just really jealous of them and you hate them a little bit but you’re also like ‘GOsh your so perfect, why do I hate you,’” said Gray.

3. Who Says by Selena Gomez

If you are a 2000s baby that grew up in the Disney channel era of Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus, and the Jonas Brothers, this song was most likely one of your childhood anthems. 

“Who Says” is a song that shows the tenacity of women in the public eye, and how confidence is something women struggle to have on a daily basis. Lyrics like “You made me insecure / Told me I wasn’t good enough / But who are you to judge / When you’re a diamond in the rough,” were inspiring to young girls around the world when the song first debuted, and continue to be a message of female empowerment today. 

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