MINNEAPOLIS — A finger pressed to the lips, then drawing down the jawline — tracing out yet another social media trend making the rounds on TikTok.
"Mewing" signals to others that you're trying to sculpt your jaw by pressing your tongue against the roof of the mouth.
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.
The science is dubious, but its effect on teen social media habits is very real.
"I would say the biggest surprise is how consumed they are by it, how addicted they are to it," said Andy Forbort, assistant principal of Grand Forks High School.
Forbort said that competition for his students' attention feels like a losing game against social media trends. Though he hadn't seen mewing in the school hallways, he did see a student-athlete doing the motion in a state hockey tournament video.
That video reached 50,000 views on TikTok.
"It's just where we're at with social media," Forbort said.
Frustrated by the focus on screens, Forbort started rewarding students who weren't on their phones during free periods.
"I'll run over and hand them out cookies and just say 'Great job being present. Enjoy these moments,'" Forbort said. "It’s sad that it’s so uncommon, but when you see it, it’s energizing."
Not every teen posing for a mewing video is actually trying to sculpt their jaw, but the trend has a more 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?"
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.
Wagner said the biggest mistake parents can make is assuming the trend is harmless for everyone.
"Especially in something like mewing, where the intent, the effort is to physically change some aspect of your body," Wagner said.
The surgeon general agrees. According to an advisory from last spring, 46% of teens reported feeling worse about their body image after scrolling social media.
Wagner fears that these short-term trends will lead to a long-lasting impact on mental health.
"That will be there and continue to negatively affect all of us well beyond when mewing is a thing of the past."
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