AI, aesthetics, and anxiety: How technology is reshaping our mental health and social media patterns?

As AI and microtrends flood Gen Z’s feeds, authenticity battles against impossible standards—reshaping self-expression and mental health. (Image: Pexels)

If the past few years have taught us anything about Gen Z, it’s that mental health is at the core of their lives. They are the first true “therapy generation” armed with awareness, language, and resources that older generations often lacked. A majority has worked with mental health professionals, and many say their well-being directly shapes every aspect of their daily life. But even with this progress, Gen Z continues to struggle more than any other generation.

On platforms like Instagram and TikTok, microtrends and aesthetics (“-cores”) arrive at dizzying speed. From Barbiecore to cottagecore to mob wife chic, the cycle moves so quickly that settling into any personal style feels impossible. The recent most example is the Nano Banana trend, which is AI generated imagery that revolves around the “look good, feel good” mantra.

Now, generative AI is complicating the equation further. Tools like Google’s Gemini Flash 2.5 Image (previously nicknamed “Nano Banana”) make it trivial to create AI-generated photos indistinguishable from reality. With the tap of a button, your pet can become a figurine, your younger self can be edited into a tea party, or your body can be placed in an impossible fantasy setting. AI’s precision allows for consistency across edits, making the illusions feel eerily seamless.

On social media, we often scroll past images for just a second or two, hardly enough time to notice the faint AI markers or untouched visual artifacts that reveal their artificiality. Many users crop out the AI tags altogether, leaving audiences to wrestle with an unsettling question: what is real, and what isn’t? For many, this creates a sense of instability like you’re always behind or out of step. Add to this the mainstreaming of “filtered face,” achieved through fillers, Botox, and filters, and the result is an exhausting cultural loop where beauty and self-expression are framed less as choices and more as obligations.

For Gen Z, already highly attuned to the intersections of appearance and identity, this creates a double bind. On one hand, they’re championing authenticity and rejecting toxic beauty standards. On the other, their feeds are flooded with impossibly polished, often AI-enhanced content. The line between genuine self-expression and curated illusion is blurring fast, and with it comes heightened anxiety, self-comparison, and pressure to keep up with trends that may not even exist in the real world.

Part of the challenge lies in the evolving role of technology, particularly the dual pressures of social media and AI. Advertisements filled with impossibly perfect people created a glossy, aspirational bubble. Today, the narrative is shifting, with brands leaning on empathy, authenticity, and mental health advocacy. Yet, the underlying pressure hasn’t disappeared but it’s simply been repackaged.

Mental health advocates stress the importance of slowing down and cultivating digital literacy. Recognizing AI markers, questioning “too-perfect” visuals, and setting boundaries with social media consumption are small but significant steps. More importantly, embracing a personal style and voice rather than chasing every micro trend offers a way out of aesthetic burnout.