Teen reports daily misogyny on Instagram and TikTok that harms girls' self esteem
Feb 23rd 2026
An anonymous 15-year-old schoolgirl describes routine sexualised abuse, dehumanising slurs and rape jokes in comments and reels, and proposes an under-16 social media ban to reduce exposure.
- The writer says mainstream apps feed her constant misogynistic content even when she tries to avoid it.
- Young men use dehumanising terms such as female, thot, bop and foid to sexualise and insult girls.
- Comment sections often trivialise rape, victim blame survivors and include calls for girls to harm themselves.
- The writer reports sustained exposure has damaged her self esteem and increased hostility between girls and boys.
- She proposes a social media ban for under-16s as a partial measure to reduce young people’s exposure to misogyny.
- The piece lists helplines for suicide prevention and support for rape and sexual abuse.