The theme is the impact of social media on menthal health, exploring how curated and idealized online images can influence self-esteem, self-worth, and overall well-being.
**Next Page:** [[Overview]].
Cindy is a vibrant young woman with a deep passion for beauty, high fashion, and music. An avid Instagram user, she is particularly influenced by beauty influencers whose recommendations shape her beauty routines and purchasing decisions.
Balancing both work and studies, Cindy lives with her middle-class parents, both of whom are employed. With a part-time job as a cashier at a grocery store, she channels her earnings into indulging her passions, prioritizing the present over future savings or investments. Her love for beauty drives her to spend most of her income on cosmetics and products endorsed by her favorite influencers.
Cindy's life is a blend of her studies, work, and a vibrant online presence, where she finds inspiration and guidance from the beauty and fashion trends she eagerly follows. However, the influence of social media extends beyond her purchasing habits. It controls how she feels about herself, often dictating her self-esteem and self-worth. The constant exposure to curated and often idealized images of beauty on social media sometimes leads Cindy to feel pressured to meet these standards, impacting her self-confidence and overall sense of well-being. This raises the question: is indulging in her passions and social media truly worth it?
**Next Page:** [[The Influencer's New Post]].Cindy wakes up to the soft glow of her phone screen and the familiar chime of Instagram notifications. Excitement bubbles up as she opens the app and sees a new post from her favorite beauty influencer. The influencer, always impeccably styled, is showcasing a new face mask that promises flawless skin and a radiant glow. Cindy's heart races with anticipation, thinking this will help with how she looks. Should she dive into the comments, see the rave reviews, and add the product to her cart immediately? Or take a moment to consider her budget?
**Choices:** [[Stop scrolling]] or [[Indulge in a new Product]].Cindy spends the day focusing on her studies and hobbies. She feels more productive and less pressured to keep up with the latest trends. This break gives her a sense of clarity and reduces her anxiety. As she leaves school for the day Cindy can feel the weight of her phone in her pocket. Should she open it and see what new posts are available on Instagram? Or, since she is feeling less anxiety and is tired after a full day of school, should she try to ignore the posts a little while longer?
**Choices:** [[Begin scrolling Instagram]] or [[Head home without opening the app]].Cindy could not wait for the new face mask to arrive. The next day, she was surprised to see it already waiting in her mailbox after school. Excited, she skipped into her house with the new package proudly in her hand. Both her parents were in the kitchen. Her mom, hair messy from the day at work and still in her scrubs, was unloading the dishwasher as her dad chopped vegetables for dinner.
*“What do you have there? Another package?”* her Dad asks with a knowing look on his face.
**Choices:** [[Stop and talk to parents]] or [[Sigh, and head upstairs to her bedroom]].Cindy was walking home from school with Elena when she heard the unique ring of her cell phone.
*"I know that sound! It’s from Instagram,"* Cindy thought excitedly.
She pulled her phone from her pocket, quickly opening the Instagram app. Sure enough, there was a new notification from her favorite Instagram influencer.
*"Oh my God! She’s made a new post. I need to read this,”* Cindy told herself, excitement building inside her.
Cindy immediately began reading the latest post, no longer noticing the busy street or Elena talking beside her. She was so immersed in her cell phone she did not realize they had approached a cross walk. Without looking up, Cindy began to step into the busy street. A loud horn snapped her out of her social media trance.
*"Cindy!"* Elena yelled, grabbing her friend’s arm.
Cindy felt her pulse quicken as she looked up to see the blue car with feet of her, the driver waving his hands angrily.
*"What are you doing girl!"* Elena snapped, giving the driver an apologetic wave.
*"Nothing, I was just looking at my phone,"* Cindy replied, her hands shaking slightly.
*"Thank you Elena for grabbing me,"* she said sheepishly.
*"Oh, no problem. But girl you need to be more careful"* Elena replied with a calm voice.
*"I will Elena, I will,"* Cindy replied while putting her phone back in her pocket.
The two friends said their goodbyes at the next intersection. Cindy’s mind began to race at the possibility of what might had happened if Elena was not there to stop her.
*"I need to stop losing myself in my phone. That car would have hit me for sure,"* Cindy told to herself on her way home.
**Choices:** [[Head home without opening the app]]Cindy walked into her house; her phone tucked away in her pocket. Both her parents were in the kitchen. Her mom, hair messy from the day and still in her scrubs from the hospital, was unloading the dishwasher as her dad chopped vegetables for dinner.
*“How was school?”* her mom asked.
*“Uneventful,”* she said, slumping into the chair at the kitchen table.
*“Well doesn’t that sound exciting,”* her dad commented sarcastically.
*“It wasn’t bad actually. I did well on my test and my anxiety wasn’t as bad as it usually is on test days,”* Cindy shrugged. *“And I hung out with Elena at lunch.”*
*“Oh, how is she doing?”* her mom asked.
*“She’s fine. She’s going camping with her family this weekend, even though she doesn’t really want to.”* Cindy reached across the table and plucked an apple from the fruit basket.
*“Sounds like you had a good conversation with her then,”* her mom commented. Her mom and dad looked at each other knowingly. They could always tell when Cindy spent the day on her phone or engaged with her friends.
*“Yeah, I guess so. Hey can we watch a movie tonight after I get off work?”* Cindy asked.
*“Sure, why don’t you pick one out. We can make pizza too,”* her dad said, pushing the vegetables he had been chopping into a Tupperware bowl. Cindy went to the living room to begin looking for a movie. Preoccupied with her friends earlier in the day, and now looking for the latest action movie, Cindy forgot about her cell phone. Without realizing it and even if it was just for the day, Cindy sank into reality instead social media.
After picking out the perfect movie Cindy got ready for work. She said goodbye to her parents and headed to [[The grocery Store]]*“A new facemask”* she replied, proud of her purchase.
Her dad shook his head slightly. *“Have you thought about saving some of that money for college? Or a car to get you there? You know your mother and I can’t help pay for it”* he said, staring down at the onion he was cutting.
Cindy shrugged. *“There’s other ways to pay for those,” she said sheepishly. “I can take out loans.”*
*“Loans that you’ll be paying for years”* her mom replied, closing the dishwasher. “We’ll help where we can, but you should be thinking about your future” her mom urged.
**Choices:** [[Take to heart what her parents say]] or [[Sigh, and head upstairs to her bedroom]]She knew her parents were right. She was excited about the prospect of college, but it still seemed so far away. So many other people took out student loans. Why couldn’t she?
*“I deserve it!”* Cindy finally said to herself.
With the new product in hand, Cindy sat down to try it. She applied the face mask to her cheeks, startled by the burning sensation that began. She looked at the back of the facemask bottle but disregarded it. It was supposed to have a brightening effect after all. After the allotted time, Cindy washed the mask from her face. Her cheeks were red, but she was convinced that it did make her skin look brighter. After finishing her make up, however, the new results were not exactly what she was expecting. She sighed, feeling a sense of depression and self-doubt sinking in.
*“Am I not pretty?”* Cindy thought, the pressure to get the same results as the influencers tightening her chest.
**Choices:** [[Look for more beauty products]] or [[Take to heart what her parents say]].Cindy went upstairs to her room, closing the door behind her. The facemask suddenly felt heavy in her hand. She slumped onto her bed and began to think about what her parents told her in the kitchen.
*“How much money have I spent on these new products?”* She thought to herself.
She pulled the receipt for the face mask from the bag, the total a stark reminder of how much she had mindlessly spent. She got up from the bed and began to rummage through her desk, gathering all of the recent receipts. She calculated the total costs of what she had spent on the latest products. The results left her speechless.
*“I could buy my own car already!”* she thought to herself. She slumped back down on the bed, setting the face mask on her nightstand. *“From now on that’s going to be my new goal, to have my own car.”*
**One story ends here.**
**Back to:** [[The Influencer's New Post]] or [[Start]]
*“I might have forgotten something and that’s why it is not working,”* Cindy said to herself.
She immediately reached for her phone, looking for her favorite influencer’s post. Sure enough, the perfectly styled influencer had another, more expensive product she could buy.
*“This time it will work. The more expensive the product, the better the results, right?”* Cindy told herself, adding the product to her virtual shopping cart. *“I deserve it.”*
**A couple of days later**
Cindy came back home after finishing her normal routine of classes and part-time job. This time her parents were in the living room watching TV.
*“Hey sweetheart!, you got another package,”* her Dad replied.
*“Finally! It felt like it took ages to get here!”* Cindy answered.
*“Don’t tell me that’s another beauty product?”* her Mom asked.
*“Yes, it is mom. What’s the problem? It's my money and I can do what I want with it,”* Cindy replied angrily.
*“Darling, don’t get upset with your mom, remember that we love you but we are worried about you. We only want you to have a bright future and you need to balance your life,”* replied her dad.
Cindy took her new package, *“You guys know nothing!”* Cindy replied, going straight to her room and locking the door. A few minutes later she heard a knock at the door.
*“Cindy, can we talk?”* Her mom asked gently.
**Choices:** [[Should Cindy talk to her mom?]] or [[Tell her to go away?]]**Cindy calmed down, ready to have a conversation with her mom.**
Cindy unlocked the door and her mom walked in.
*“Darling, I’m sorry. We didn’t mean to upset you, your dad and I are just worried about you”*, her mom replied as she took a seat next to her on Cindy’s bed.
*“I’m sorry mom. I shouldn’t have reacted like that,”* Cindy replied back.
Her mom crossed her legs, a look of concern on her face. *“Is there something you are not telling me?”* Her mom asked.
*“No, mom, everything is fine. I’m just exhausted, that’s all,”* Cindy replied.
* “Well, okay. I will leave you alone so you can rest,”* her mom replied.
Cindy’s mom left the room and Cindy threw her head back on her pillow.
*“What’s wrong with me?”* she thought to herself. *“Why was I so angry? I might need help to deal with this dilemma.”* She pulled herself up off her bed as a yawn escaped her.
She picked up her pink pajamas and began walking towards the bathroom. A nice shower would help her feel better.
*“Besides,”* she thought as she turned on the shower, *“I can play with the new face serum some other time”*
.
**Next Day (after making this choice)**
The next day Cindy arrived at school radiant and relaxed. She felt well rested and excited for the day.
*“Hey Cindy! You look like you're glowing. What did you do?”* Elena, Cindy’s best friend, asked as she approached her locker.
*“Nothing actually. I just had a nice shower and a good night's sleep.”*
*“That’s great to hear. You seemed like you were almost going berserk with all of the weird beauty products,”* Elena replied.
*“Oh, come on Elena. You’re exaggerating,”* Cindy replied, a little concerned at her friend’s reaction.
*“Maybe you’re right. I might have overreacted a little bit”* Elena replied.
During the day, Cindy received more and more praise about how appeared to be glowing.
*“Maybe I didn’t need all of those products after all,”* she thought to herself on her walk home from school. She began to think maybe her mom was right. That to be beautiful you just have to be yourself and feel happy with who you are.
**This story ends here.**
, **Back to:** [[The Influencer's New Post]] or [[Start]]
Cindy sighed in annoyance. *"Please go away, I want to be alone,"* she said to her mom.
She could hear her mom’s disappointment in her voice. *"Okay honey, I will leave you alone, but just remember that we love you".*
Cindy began to calm down and looked down at the new product in her hand.
*“It’s finally here, the product that will become my game changer!”* Cindy told herself. *“I’m going to use it right away!”* Cindy, without even reading the new serum’s label, began applying the new product to her face.
**On The Next Day**
Cindy woke up the next morning shocked to discover her face was even more red.
*“What in the world happened?”* she wondered.
Once at school, people began to notice how red and irritated her skin was. *“Hey Cindy, what happened to your face?”* Elena, her best friend, asked.
*“I had a weird reaction after I used this new product that I bought from my favorite beauty influencer.”*
*“Oh wow. I told you to be careful with those products and those influencers. You know sometimes they use filters and other tricks to make themselves look almost perfect and sometimes they use products that haven’t been tested yet,”* Elena replied.
*“No that’s not it at all Elena. I’m not pretty enough and that is the reason that the products aren’t working,”* Cindy replied, her shoulders slumping in disappointment.
*“That’s not true Cindy. You are beautiful and you just have to be yourself, that’s all”* Elena replied.
*“Thank you, Elena, but I know that’s not true. Those products are not working because something is wrong with me,”* Cindy replied with tears in her eyes.
Cindy turned on her heel and ran away from her friend's side towards the bathroom. Once she calmed down, she unzipped her backpack and opened her big bag of cosmetics. Pulling out the foundation, Cindy began to try to cover her red skin.
*“I cannot let anyone see me like this anymore”* Cindy told to herself. *“Next time, it will work. I’m sure.”*
**Choices:** [[Talk to her mom when she gets home]] or [[Start looking for a new product for the red]]**Cindy talk with her mom about what happened**
Cindy went home after school, relieved that she did not have to work at the grocery store that day.
*“I’m going to talk with mom about this,”* Cindy told herself on her way home.
*“Hi, I’m home”* Cindy said, walking through the front door.
*“Oh, hi honey how was your day?”* her mom replied from the kitchen, still in her scrubs from work.
*“Not good, actually. Hey mom can we talk?”* Cindy replied.
*“Sure honey, what happened?”* her mom asked, pulling a cutting knife from the drawer.
Cindy pulled makeup remover wipes from her backpack and began explaining to her mom what happened during the day. She pulled a wipe from the packet and began cleaning her face, revealing the full extent of irritation to her skin. Her mom sat down the knife she had been using to cut an apple, her eyes widening.
*“Oh my, you had a severe skin reaction. We need to go to the doctor right away”* her mom replied.
*"Okay mom, but before we go I want to say that I'm sorry about how I reacted yesterday, I should not yelled at you"* Cindy told to her mom.
Her mom gave her a big hug. *"Everything is all right honey. I'm just glad that you came to me for help.”*
The next morning Cindy and her mom arrived at the doctor’s office. The doctor’s fingers were cold on her skin as he slowly turned her head back and forth, examining the irritation.
*“Your skin is definitely irritated. What did you use?”* the doctor asked, removing the gloves from his hands.
*“I was using these products I saw on Instagram,”* Cindy replied.
*“I see. Do you have the products with you?”* The doctor asked.
*“Yes, here it is”* Cindy's mom replied and handed him the bottles. The doctor began reading the product’s label, adjusting his glasses to read the small print.
*“Did you know that this product is not approved to be used?”*
Cindy’s eyes widened.
*“There is no indication that it was approved by the FDA, which is the governing body who regulates these kinds of products. You were lucky that this irritation did not cause permanent damage,”* the doctor explained.
*“You need to stop using this immediately. I’ll write you a prescription for a medication to apply once a week to help with the redness. If it continues after a couple of weeks, please come back again.”* The doctor handed the product back to her mother and made his way to the door.
*“Thank you doctor"* both Cindy and her mom replied.
**A Week after the doctor's visit**
A week after the doctor’s visit, the redness had visibly improved.
*“Look mom! The redness is all gone now,”* Cindy exclaimed, rushing into the living room to tell her mom the good news.
*“That is wonderful darling. I’m so happy for you”* her mom replied. *“Now please be more careful. Remember what the doctor told you. If it is not approved, don’t use it. Please use this as a wakeup call. You’re beautiful as you are and could be putting the money you spend on all of these products towards your future.”*
Cindy sighed but smiled. She knew her mom was right. Over the past week she had tried to verify the products her favorite influencers were using with the FDA. The majority of them she had a hard time locating.
*“Okay, mom!”* Cindy replied.
**This story ends here.**
**Back to:** [[The Influencer's New Post]] or [[Start]] While walking home from school Cindy began frantically scrolling Instagram. There had to be a new product that would remove the red. She couldn’t let her mom find out the product had not worked as promised.
After scrolling for a while, Cindy was shocked to find found that other girls had a similar reaction. There were multiple comments on the influencer’s page, asking what had gone wrong and informing her of the side effects. To Cindy’s surprise, the influencer seemed to deny all of the reactions, declaring them as "hater comments."
One girl commented to the influencer, *"If the product is so great, Why don't you use it on yourself?"*
The influencer had a short response. *"I don't have to use to prove that is a great product."*
That reply had dozens of negative comments associated to it.
Cindy was shocked. *"What's going on here? I should have listened to my mom. What do I do now?"*
**Choice:** [[Talk to her mom when she gets home]]Later that day Cindy was at her job in the grocery store. She found herself with some free-time between customers and began scrolling Instagram.
*"I do this every single day. As long as I don't buy anything, it can’t hurt,"* Cindy told to herself.
As she scrolled, Cindy became more and more immersed in the beauty tendencies provided by her favorite influencer.
*"This time I'm going to take a few screenshots with the things that I loved for later,"* Cindy thought to herself.
Cindy was so immersed in her scrolling that she didn't realize the huge line of customers waiting for her. She suddenly heard a customer ask,
*"Hey, young-lady I want to pay my stuff and get out of here."* Cindy’s head snapped up from her phone.
*“You young kids have no respect for other people’s time,”* the older man snapped.
He tapped the counter in front of her. *“In my day you would have been fired instantly for this lack of customer service!”* he exclaimed.
*“Hey now!”* said an older woman behind him. *“You shouldn’t yell at her like that. It’s not her fault her generation was raised by computer screens.”*
The older man glared at the woman. Cindy felt her face flush red with embarrassment.
*“I’m so sorry,”* she exclaimed, fumbling with the groceries in front of her.
*“If this was my store you wouldn’t have a job anymore,”* the man grumbled.
Cindy felt her pulse quicken as she scanned his groceries, not making eye contact.
*“In your day you probably had to club a wooly mammoth,”* the older woman grumbled at him, tapping her toe.
*“What did you say?”* the older man yelled, turning his attention to the customer behind him.
*“Is there a problem here?”* Cindy’s boss proclaimed, walking quickly to her register.
Cindy sighed in relief before recognizing the frustration on her boss’s face.
*“You’re employee here is too busy making the latest TikTack instead of doing her job,”* the man exclaimed.
*“I wasn’t even on TikTok,”* Cindy thought to herself, hanging her head.
*“Sorry about those folks. Let us give you some coupons and get you on your way,”* her boss explained, helping to bag the groceries Cindy scanned.
*"I told you this before, do not use your phone while you are at work. That line was unacceptable,"* her boss explained after the line of people had left.
*"I'm so sorry, it won't happen again,"* Cindy replied, her face turning a deep red with embarrassment.
*“Listen, you are a great employee and the customers like you,”* he said calmly, recognizing her continued embarrassment.
*“But please keep your phone away while you are at work. We do not need that unnecessary drama here."*
Cindy nodded her head enthusiastically. *“Yes Sir, I promise that won't happen again,"* Cindy replied. Cindy's boss smiled at her.
*"I know it won’t. Now get back home safely and enjoy your night."*
*"I will, thank you again,"* Cindy replied and left the store.
On her walk home, Cindy was still a little ashamed about what happened at the grocery store.
*"My boss is a good person, but I need to control myself, I never thought that just by scrolling I was going to create such a mess."* Cindy felt the vibration of a new notification on her phone in her pocket.
She reached for it, but then decided to disregard it. She could hear the cars rushing past her on the street. *"I need to be more vigilant. I don't want to repeat this situation ever again."*
**This story ends here**
**Back to:** [[The Influencer's New Post]] or [[Start]]