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A finger pressed to the lips, then drawing down the jawline is somehow the latest social media trend making the rounds on TikTok and causing concern in the classrooms and at home.

This pose is called ‘mewing’, signalling to others that you’re trying to sculpt your jaw by pressing your tongue against the roof of the mouth.

Mewing is supposed to be a quick-fix non-surgical beauty trend to help make your jawline appear more defined, but students are taking it to the next level and using it to avoid participating in class or discussion by essentially “shushing” their teacher or parent.

The action is named after John and Michael Mew, a pair of controversial British orthodontists who pushed orthotropics, the belief that tongue positioning can shape one’s jaw. Although the science is dubious, its effect on teen social media habits is as real as it gets.

@mr_lindsay_sped Replying to @Ohmygoodness Don’t let them hit you with the 🤫🤫🤫! 😂 This one is called #mewing and thisnis what it is! #genalpha #slang #genz #middleschoolslang #teach #teachersoftiktok #teacherfyp #highschoolteacher #middleschoolteacher #mewing ♬ original sound – Mr. Lindsay

Philip Lindsay, a special education math teacher in Payson, Arizona, whose TikTok account deciphers teen slang, says mewing is big at school.

“When somebody comes up and asks you a question — particularly if it’s the teacher or a parent — and you don’t want to answer the question, you hit them with the (mewing) …” Lindsay said in a video. “Which simply means, ‘I can’t answer your question right now. I’m mewing. I’m working on my jawline.'”

Teresa Kaye Newman, a teacher at the Newman Music Academy in Manor, Texas, suggests ‘mewing’ could be the “final straw” in her teaching career, contemplating resignation.

“In reality, they absolutely understand how dismissive and disrespectful it is of the person that’s trying to engage with them, especially in a learning environment,” she says in the video. “They also understand how hurtful it can be.”

Liz Nissim-Matheis, PhD, a licensed clinical psychologist and certified school psychologist at Psychological and Educational Consulting in Livingston, New Jersey, says teen ‘mewing’ may also be an attempt at a power play.

“This is a type of behavior that is creating a sense of equality between child and parent or student and teacher,” Dr. Nissim-Matheis tells Parents. “It is disrespectful because the two are not on equal ranking.”

If the act is done by a student to another student, she says, it could also affect their self-esteem, because “being treated in such a manner only serves to diminish what little sense of worth a teen may have.”

@dillon.latham Replying to @finding_ind0nesia_ggs what is mewing #dillonlatham #mewing ♬ original sound – Dillon latham

The dark side of the trend has another concerning dark side — mewing forums. These online communities appear geared toward young men and boys. Teens post anonymous pictures of themselves, desperate to change their still-growing faces:

“GENUINE HELP NEEDED (YOUR ADVICE WILL BECOME MY ACTION),” one user wrote.
“Guys help me please,” another posted.
“Tips on how to lose face fat?”

These are all questions that eating disorder experts said can indicate an unhealthy preoccupation with body image.

“That content reinforces and reinforces you are not right, you are not good,” said Hilmar Wagner, an education specialist with the eating disorder treatment center The Emily Program.

Philip Lindsay, a special education math teacher in Payson, Arizona, notes how mewing is also one way to “looksmax.” Urban Dictionary states that looksmaxxing is the “physical improvement of a person’s body — in terms of development of facial features or muscular improvement — in order to make oneself more attractive or easier to like.”

Looksmaxxing is a teen boy trend, reports the New York Times, bisected into “softmaxxing” (light beauty improvements like mewing) and “hardmaxxing” (cosmetic surgery).

There are concerns that these ever-evolving short-term trends will lead to a long-lasting impact on mental health.

Mewing might be a little frightful but have you seen the video of young school girls – some as young as six or seven – making very adult Get Ready With Me For School videos, in which they film their entire getting ready routine, complete with a multi-step skincare routine and makeup. Yikes. The kids are not alright.

[source:parents]