No matter what generation they come from, teenagers will always seem like adorable aliens to more mature human beings. Sometimes it is like they are speaking another language. Have no fear, we are going to cover the newest teen trend: mewing.
Mewing is both a slang word and an action. The American Association of Orthodontists defines it as a "do-it-yourself facial restructuring method." One sucks in their checks and places the tongue on the roof of one’s mouth. The organization was sure to add that it doesn’t really work. Teens are using this method more as a joke than actually trying to get results. What punks.
Teens are being extra and adding a hand gesture, moving their hands from the top to the bottom of their jaw. They end by placing their finger over their lips. It signals that they cannot talk to you because they are busy “mewing.”
"Unfortunately, scientific evidence supporting mewing’s jawline-sculpting claims is as thin as dental floss," the AAO stated. "A complex interplay of genetics, bone growth, and muscle development influences facial structure. Simply changing tongue placement isn’t enough to magically correct misaligned teeth, reshape your jawline, and prevent the need for orthodontic treatment."
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One math teacher in Payson, Arizona, breaks down teen behavior on their popular TikTok account. Philip Lindsay reports that mewing is a big deal 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]," he explained.
For those of us still confused, Philip explained further. Mewing means, “I can't answer your question right now. I'm mewing. I'm working on my jawline.”
Kids are testing the waters with mewing. It’s part joke, part pushing back against authority. "I haven't run into one kid who has used mewing seriously … [although] some teachers talk about how disrespectful it is," Philip told Today. "That's one opinion — and mewing has that tone — but it's more of a 'Let's see if we can get a laugh out of this' [move]."
Even though it’s kind of a joke, mewing also helps teens “looksmax.” This means to improve their physical appearance so they are more attractive to others. Looksmax can be broken down further according to the New York Times. There is “softmaxxing" and "hardmaxxing." The former is small physical improvements and the latter is plastic surgery.
Philip has rules in place to maintain order in his classroom. He values creating relationships with his students to help them learn. "If a kid is mewing and trying to be funny, [I'll say], 'You can mew on your own time … [please] answer the question," he stated. "The less I take these [trends] seriously, the less fuel they have."
