Show Notes
In this episode, Suzy Weiss sits down with writer Freya India to discuss how the internet, influencer culture, and therapy-speak have made adolescence more miserable than ever for girls.
India’s new book, Girls®: Generation Z and the Commodification of Everything, examines how algorithm-driven platforms push young users toward extremes in beauty, body image, mental health, and relationships. It’s not vague cultural forces like “the patriarchy” that are warping girls’ self-worth, she argues. The real drivers are companies, and the social media platforms engineered to maximize engagement.
India says that the effect isn’t just heightened insecurity, but a total flattening of personality. Across the world, girls are being pulled toward a homogenized end state—where everyone wants to look like the Kardashians, talk like Alex Cooper, and medicate or shop their way out of anxiety.
They also explore rising male insecurity around appearance, how “femosphere” podcasts like Call Her Daddy mirror the same dynamics as the manosphere, the rise of OnlyFans, Euphoria, and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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