Understanding Today’s Adolescent Girls
Knowledge prepares us to effectively guide adolescent girls today.
Posted May 7, 2026 | Reviewed by Michelle Quirk
In 1994, psychologist Mary Pipher published a New York Times bestseller, Reviving Ophelia , to guide parents, teachers, and therapists in helping adolescent girls navigate a difficult culture. Twenty-five years later, she and her daughter published an updated version to explore what has and hasn’t changed.
The 1990s culture was poisonous to teenage girls. Contrasted to post-World War II culture, 1990s life was fast-paced, less protected, and sexually active. A global corporate culture, which blatantly sexualized women and promoted “junk values,” replaced family and community, where once children played together, read, and felt safe.
Twenty-five years later, girls are coming of age in a digital world. Nonstop media coverage makes teens more aware of dangers, more frightened, and more risk-averse.
In some respects, modern girls are doing better. The authors report reductions in casual sexual activity, unplanned pregnancies, substance abuse , eating disorders, racism , and conflicts with parents. However, in today’s virtual community , digital devices replace personal interactions. We see:
For these reasons, coupled with the general decline of faith noted by the authors, modern teens are much more likely to be anxious, depressed , and suicidal .
The Psychological Journey of Adolescent Girls
Pre-adolescent girls who are confident, curious, and content often crash in junior high school, losing resilience , optimism , zest, and the inclination to risk. Too much hits them, too fast. They become more self-critical, depressed, and unhappy with their own maturing bodies. They start to distance themselves from their parents, and enjoy parents’ physical affection less—turning instead to peers for a sense of belonging, often embracing the self-defeating values of mass culture.
Some of this is normal as they are coping with puberty and worrying about popularity, appearances, and discovering who they really are. For many, the intensity of developmental challenges will significantly subside by late high school. But the toxic influence of the digital culture complicates this transition.
Increasing mental distress has paralleled a steep rise in screen time among adolescent girls (Abi-Jaoude et al. 2020, Twenge et al. 2018). By middle school, most girls have already started using smartphones. The authors state that adolescent girls daily check their phones 80 times, spend 6 hours online (most of their free time), and often check social media throughout the night. At a time in life when meanness peaks and girls are insecure and eager to be liked, reputations are tarnished by posted rumors and disparaging comments—and they have few skills to cope with emotional pain. All this happens as they experience the same emotional and biological ups and downs of adolescence that have always existed.
And what does the digital culture give in return? In addition to enticing constant comparisons to unrealistic ideals, the digital world promotes reliance on superficial feedback to confirm self-worth .
In the digital world’s worship of thinness, people view anorexic models and try to imitate them. Teens see parents obsessed with dieting . Gymnasts, dancers, and cheerleaders replace the childhood joy of movement with constant comparisons against others for thinness. Girls who gain weight when their periods start often struggle with shameful feelings toward their bodies.
The digital world erodes the sense of safety. In addition to disturbing news coverage, adolescent girls are sexually harassed (“Send me a picture of you in a bikini”), receive mean-spirited teasing about their bodies, and read vicious online chatter.
Self-harm has increased, often in response to cyberbullying, loneliness, and overwhelming feelings that they’re ill-equipped to handle. Frequently, cutting is normalized on social media, with people claiming that it makes them feel alive and rids the body of negative energy. Some even proudly engage in a competition over who has the most cuts.
Ironically, the digital world distracts them from dealing with stress rather than solving their problems, recreating with friends, and talking to parents. Today, more of girls’ lives are hidden from their parents.
The digital culture also heightens susceptibility to common unchallenged thought fallacies, such as:
Anxiety is a very common problem for today’s adolescent girls. They fear ostracism, bullying , and ridicule on social media; overscheduling and fear of failing to meet high standards; and school shootings and other troubles in the world.
In the new digital culture, the authors note that adolescent girls still need:
Understanding the challenges of modern living for adolescent girls is the first step to effectively supporting and guiding their prosperous development.
Pipher, M, & Gilliam, S. P. (2019). Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls . NY: Riverhead.
Schiraldi, G. R. (2021). The Adverse Childhood Experiences Recovery Workbook . Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.
Abi-Jaoude, E., et al. (2020). Smartphones, Social Media Use and Youth Mental Health. CMAJ , 192(6),E136–E141.
Twenge, J. M., et al. (2018). Increases in Depressive Symptoms, Suicide-related Outcomes, and Suicide Rates Among U.S. Adolescents after 2010 and Links to Increased New Media Screen Time. Clinical Psychological Science , 6(1), 3–17.
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Glenn R. Schiraldi, Ph.D., has served on the stress management faculties at The Pentagon, the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, and the University of Maryland. His recent book is The Adverse Childhood Experiences Recovery Workbook.
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This article is part of the Bringwise Psychology Journal — daily insights on human behavior, mental health, and personal growth.