Sixteen-year-old Bryce scrolls through the endless parade of young, male testimonials that pop up on his phone as he tries to explain the concept of “mewing” to a novice.

“It’s a certain way you can lift your tongue up and press it to the roof of your mouth to give you the appearance of a stronger jawline,” Bryce says. “It’s like a workout for your jawline.”

It’s not Bryce’s thing, but these trends can be hard to avoid on his social media feeds.

“Mewing” is one of many practices used among a growing number of teens and young men who participate in a modern subculture known as “looksmaxxing.” The online movement prioritizes physical appearance through grooming, fitness and a range of other lifestyle behaviors.

While some of the advice is tame, some of it is excessive — and can be dangerous to the health of boys and teens.

“There’s a real range of advice out there,” says Jasmine Reese, M.D., director of the Adolescent and Young Adult Specialty Clinic at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. “Some of it is benign and may even encourage some wellness, but more and more, we’re seeing extreme, harmful behaviors that are detrimental not only to physical health but to mental health as well.”

The “looksmaxxing” movement has birthed its own language and terminology. “Softmaxxing” is considered to be lower-risk advice, and may focus on things such as hygiene, grooming, skin and hair care, or fashion. 

But as the movement has become more competitive and extreme, the behaviors come with more risk and, sometimes, irreversible damage (“Hardmaxxing.”) “Hardmaxxers” may undergo multiple surgical procedures to change their facial structures. There is even a trend called “bonesmashing,” where young males hit their faces with hammers to reshape their bone structure.

Some social media influencers advocate the use of anabolic steroids for muscle-building, or experimental peptides which can be obtained online. Others encourage the misuse of stimulant drugs for weight loss.

Dieting extremes are common in the “looksmaxxing” culture.

“We’ve seen a huge uptick in teens, even pre-teens, with eating disorders, with body dysmorphia,” Reese says. “Many of these kids are practicing dangerous, restrictive diets that they’ve learned about online.”

Mental health is also at risk. Some young males rate each other’s appearance online, or they may download “looksmaxxing” apps, which use artificial intelligence to rate their face and give it a score based on things like jawline, cheekbone structure, masculinity and skin quality.

“Imagine if you’re a young person, already not feeling great about yourself and now there is an app that is going to rate you and make you feel even worse,” Reese says. “Then the influencers give you options to ‘look better.’ That leads to experimentation without the benefit of sound advice.”

Reese says it’s normal for adolescents to be concerned with their physical appearance, but certain trends can be all-consuming. She says you can help your teen by talking to them about what they’re seeing online. Have a conversation about how algorithms work to keep them focused on certain extreme online content, and how many media influencers are incentivized to elicit engagement and behavior, and to sell products.

Parents can also help by being good role models with things like nutrition. Practice healthy, positive food behaviors that don’t label entire food groups as good or bad.

It may be useful to link sound advice to your child’s goals. For example, if they want to be faster, stronger or leaner, they’ll want to have all the proper nutrients in their diet to achieve those things.

Staying tuned in to your child’s sports culture can be beneficial as well. Make sure your child’s coaching staff supports the teen’s holistic growth and development along with their progress in the sport itself.

Ultimately, helping to highlight and bolster a young person’s natural strengths — what they excel in or what makes them happy, such as sports, math, art or music — can foster self-esteem and make them less vulnerable to extreme online trends.

Bryce has some advice for younger boys who may feel enticed by the hype and the cultural pressure to achieve a certain look.

“I would say to accept who you are,” Bryce says. “You may not think you’re perfect, but you can just choose to accept and believe in yourself. That’s the best way to be.”