The Girl Scouts of America asked girls to share their experiences, concerns and needs in a new report that looks at the pressures and possibilities of girlhood.
The State of the Girl 2026 report highlights the effects of things like social media on girls and young women which Cara Biddlecom, CEO of Girl Scouts of Western New York, says is especially important to acknowledge.
“I think that the report really speaks to concerns that we knew were out there for young people, but also being able to counter those, the negative headlines, if you will, with some really positive strengths that we know that are within girls," she said.
She explained that things like body image, peer pressure and social expectations tend to come with greater gender disparities.
“For girls, those risks and the detriment to them are stronger than for boys, in part because of the ways that they use social media, so that's something that we particularly need to pay attention to,” Biddlecom said, adding that more than half of girls aged fifteen to seventeen reported being cyberbullied.
Much of the report looks at the impact of social media on body image, mental wellbeing and connecting with others.
Forty-six percent of girls say they’re online almost constantly and the report says that teen girls are more likely than their male peers to report negative impacts of social media on their mental health, confidence and sleep. Girl Scouts of Western New York youth at large director Olivia Hunger says that for many girls, it’s the only place they feel they can get attention.
“Girls might feel like they're seen more on social media, even if it's through a negative lens, but since they're so used to at home, not getting so much attention, maybe not positive attention, they're looking for attention on social media that tends to turn into negative paths,” she said.
Over half of girls reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness within the past year, and more than one in four girls seriously considered attempting suicide, the report shows. Much of that can be attributed to negative online environments and cyberbullying, but Hunger says it’s also critical for girls to feel understood and taken seriously so that they can talk about mental health challenges they may be facing.
“People think someone isn't necessarily going to understand them and is going to misunderstand what they're saying and take it the wrong way, which I feel like causes girls, especially younger girls, to not want to speak up or address an issue that they might be having within themselves because they think they're going to be misunderstood or mistaken for something else," she said.
While the report outlines many challenges that girls and young women are navigating, it also says there are ways to produce positive support systems and opportunities for girls. Both the report and scout leaders say it involves taking initiative to understand what girls need and nurturing their potential.
“There's just so much that girls have to offer, and we can, we can do what we can to make them thrive," Biddlecom said. "It's not going to take a lot of investment; it just takes some intention.”
Now 17 years old, Hunger says she's been a Girl Scout since the age of five.
"I got asked to speak at another event, and I had little girls all over, ranging from ages six to 10, coming up to me asking me how they can get help with anxiety," she said. "I feel like things like that is what boosts my confidence, me being able to inspire the younger girls, and to be like, hey, there is somebody older than me that is going through the same thing I am. I feel like Girl Scouts has given me that confidence and that ability to be able to be a role model for younger girls."
