Lauren Greenfield, the Social Studies Director, discusses the influence of social media on the lives of teenagers.

      “I believe social media makes many teens feel terrible, yet they don’t know how to stop using it,” shares Cooper, one of the teenagers featured in Lauren Greenfield’s docuseries Social Studies, reflecting its central idea.

      “There’s this pressure to be flawless in everything you do. I need a perfect resume, a perfect GPA, ideal test scores, and the perfect body.”

      She resides in a large house in Brentwood, has good friends, and, at 18, co-hosts a podcast focused on thriving. However, she identifies herself as a recovering perfectionist, admitting that she struggles with the negativity online, such as comments like “you’d be so pretty if it weren’t for your nose.” She expresses regret about feeling unable to join a recent TikTok trend that involves posting photos of her face from various angles for others to admire or critique, due to her (which, to be fair, is completely normal) nose.

      She is one of the more financially privileged teens showcased in the five-part series. Yet, across various demographics, almost all share a commonality: a dependence on social media that leads to feelings of sadness.

      Greenfield has previously explored themes of excess in her documentary works, including Thin (2006), The Queen of Versailles (2012), and Generation Wealth (2018). While she often focuses on the wealthy, in FX's Social Studies, she directs her attention to a form of excess accessible to anyone with a smartphone.

      Jack, in the center, is one of the teens featured in Social Studies. Photo credit: Lauren Greenfield/INSTITUTE.

      Her subjects allowed her near-complete access to their screens and lives, providing intriguing and at times heartbreaking insights into how many teenagers engage online: They use FaceTune to enhance jawlines or slim thighs, and seek ways around social media bans on pro-anorexia accounts. They stress over unfounded rumors regarding a socially awkward classmate allegedly planning a school shooting. They post or are subject to racial slurs.

      They quickly learn disheartening algorithmic tricks, such as noticing that underage girls receive more engagement when wearing fewer clothes, and grapple with how to navigate this knowledge.

      Not everything is negative; at times they form friendships or find communities online. However, their relationships often face challenges due to the constant connectivity, subjecting them to the judgments of friends, foes, and trolls.

      The series primarily focuses on Palisades Charter High School, where many students come from affluent families, yet all are burdened by the trials of living in consequential times. The documentary was filmed shortly after pandemic lockdowns that increased reliance on phones among young people and others. It also captures the aftermath of nationwide Black Lives Matter protests, revealing a complex mix of awareness, performative allyship, underlying resentments, and overt racism. Students of color voice concerns about racism and segregation.

      This all unfolded prior to the school being shut down due to wildfires in Los Angeles.

      Greenfield avoids moralizing, allowing her subjects to express themselves. Her open-ended questions lead to expansive, vulnerable, and intricate responses, while her simple contrasts of their online and offline existences evoke both amusement and concern, likely to provoke vicarious anxiety.

      Underlying the series is the realization that we are not merely observing a snapshot of teenage lives: these individuals will eventually shape our world, making their values and habits the new standard.

      We spoke with Greenfield about earning her subjects' trust and sharing their stories on a larger platform.

      Lauren Greenfield leads an offline discussion for her docuseries Social Studies. Photo credit: Lauren Greenfield/INSTITUTE.

      Joshua Encinias: What was the initial idea for Social Studies, and how did it change during production?

      Lauren Greenfield: The original idea was a social experiment that would follow a group of high school students over a year, examining social media’s influence. I have studied media's impact on youth since the ’90s. My first book, Fast Forward: Growing Up in the Shadow of Hollywood, explored how cable TV and Hollywood influenced L.A. youth. However, witnessing social media's effect on my own children, who were 14 and 20 at the time, motivated me to examine it from their viewpoint, rather than relying on experts or adults. The ability to access what’s truly on their phones was crucial.

      The most significant change was technical. Social media platforms intentionally make it difficult to extract content. I employed an engineer who struggled to access their phones, but my teen assisted in creating a workaround for real-time feeds. This became essential because so much of modern life occurs on phones, unseen by traditional filming methods. Ultimately, though, I followed the narratives of the kids wherever they directed me.

      Also Read: Giving Voice to the Adolescents of Adolescence

      Joshua Encinias: How did you gain access to the teens’ phone activity?

      Lauren Greenfield: Part of it is a trade secret, but we used Apple's screen recording as one method—al