CBC can help restore social media-driven loss of esteem

Self-esteem begins at infancy when babies receive safe, loving care and positive attention. This is the foundation of self-worth.

Why is it then that teen girls are losing their  self-esteem when they need it the most? Constant comparing on social media is undoubtedly the greatest menace negatively affecting the lives of thousands of teen girls in Kenya and the world over. Teen girls have found themselves in a situation where they have to follow certain social rules to fit in.

Self-doubt has deeply permeated their lives. Research by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman shows that girls' self-esteem drops by about 30 per cent between the ages of 9 and 14, a decline accelerated by social media and the pressure to be perfect.

Constant exposure to curated, edited images lead to damaging loops. This self-doubt eventually brings about loss of confidence. As a society, are we telling our girls that for them to be accepted they have to be flawless? A nicely shaped or pretty body should never be a true measure of self-esteem because physical appearance changes over time and does not reflect a person's character, intelligence or intrinsic worth.

True self-esteem comes from inner growth, values, accomplishments and how you treat yourself and others.

Consequently, this constant worrying gives rise to stress and anxiety in teen girls. They have to keep worrying about hair, skin or weight. Beauty standards cannot be said to replace intelligence.

A people that have normalised beauty standards overgrowth and values cannot be said to care about the future of young girls.

This should concern Kenya's education sector. We often discuss poor academic performance in terms of teaching quality, resources, examination pressure and school discipline. Yet we must also ask ourselves whether we are paying enough attention to the invisible pressures occupying our learners' minds.

How can we expect a girl to concentrate fully on a difficult mathematics problem, a literature text or a science project when she is preoccupied with how she looks compared with the girl she has just seen on TikTok or Instagram?

Body image is the combination of one's thoughts and feelings towards one's own body.  Social media use among young people is a key part of contemporary life and on the rise; yet, this increased exposure has been associated with reduced body satisfaction.

Digital peer influencers tend to feel more relatable for young people than parents and teachers. And for young girls who are going through adolescence and experiencing bodily changes, these influencers' posts become believable when they share vulnerable stories to convince their target audience.

The "Relatability Trap" is a highly effective marketing and psychological strategy where influencers, brands and algorithmic content use an illusion of authenticity, vulnerability and everyday flaws to gain the trust of young girls only to subtly funnel them toward artificial, unattainable beauty standards.

For instance, influencers start videos without makeup, showing acne, bloat or messy hair. They then share deeply personal struggles with body image or self-esteem to build a strong emotional connection.

After establishing deep trust, they introduce specific products, procedures or filters as the "solution" to those shared struggles. They frame these transformations not as heavy alterations but as "effortless" or "casual" routines.

The Competency-Based Education (CBE) equips learners to challenge harmful beauty narratives, primarily through its core focus on critical thinking, media literacy and values-based education.

Unlike the 8-4-4 system that focused on memorising content, CBE focuses on what a learner can do with knowledge.

This shift actively builds the psychological and cognitive skills needed to dismantle societal pressures around body image and beauty standards.

Through critical thinking and problem solving, learners do not just accept media messaging at face value; they are trained to question “why” certain physical ideals are promoted, identify commercial motives behind the beauty industry and unpack the unrealistic nature of digitally altered images.

Through Digital and Media Literacy, learners get tools to analyse social media algorithms, recognising how toxic trends like Eurocentric beauty ideals or extreme weight loss narratives are manufactured and spread through self-efficacy and self-awareness, learners are encouraged to value their identity based on capability and character rather than aesthetic conformity.

The flexibility of the CBE allows teachers to embed these real-world discussions directly into specific learning areas.

While CBE provides the perfect systemic framework for this kind of progressive education, its success heavily depends on curriculum design and teacher training.

If facilitators are not adequately trained to lead uncomfortable conversations about body image, self-worth and digital distortion, the framework remains underutilised. A critically thinking learner should be able to ask: Why is this image being shown to me? Who benefits from my insecurity? Has this photograph been edited? What is the commercial motive behind this message? The Teachers Service Commission must recognise that the challenges facing today's learners extend beyond the traditional classroom.

Teacher professional development should equip educators to have informed conversations about body image, social-media pressure, cyberbullying, digital manipulation and self-worth.

Guidance and counselling departments in schools need to address self-worth, body image and media literacy, not just drug abuse and discipline. While managing drug abuse and behaviour is necessary, modern students face intense psychological pressures that require a broader, more holistic approach.

Traditional counselling often only intervenes after a rules violation or crisis occurs. Behavioural issues and substance abuse frequently stem from low self-worth and poor mental health. Legacy programmes often ignore the massive impact of the digital world on a student's psyche.

Students need to build identity based on intrinsic values, not just grades or social status. The guidance and counselling departments must insist on self-worth as it acts as a psychological buffer against bullying, failure and peer pressure.

Students who feel capable and valued perform better academically. Puberty naturally brings physical changes that can trigger anxiety and insecurity.

Early intervention and education can prevent severe body dysmorphia. Students must be taught how social media algorithms exploit insecurities to keep them online. Visual literacy helps students recognise that online images are highly curated, filtered or AI-generated.

Teaching digital citizenship reduces online harassment and builds healthier online communities. The departments should train older students to lead discussions on body image and social media pressures.

The Ministry of Education should organise seminars to help parents understand modern digital pressures and support healthy self-esteem at home.

 Rachel Wanjiku Mwangi is a teacher of English and Literature at NoonKopir Girls Senior School, Kitengela.