The author is virtue-signaling. She's not better than those privileged girls and her life choices aren't better than theirs. I'm guessing she's jealous and trying to make herself feel better.
Everyone has teen angst and insecurity; some girls because they aren't pretty and don't have cool clothes, and some because they have too much freedom and no limits. The "It" girls have way more pressure than mere mortals like me think they do. In catching up with those girls from my high school, their daily routine to remain perfect was exhausting, and they're still stuck in that image as adults. But it's what they want, and that's okay. Everybody has a life.
I also think most parents steer their children in some way, whether it's sports or academics or charitable action or catching a suitable guy and settling into domesticity. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be a trophy wife instead of a corporate executive. It's just a life choice.
I'm currently absorbed into Truman Capote and his "Swans" - Babe Paley, Slim Keith, CZ Guest, etc. - and reading everything I can find about New York high society in the 40s-70s. They had their problems, too, it's just that keeping the lights on and a roof over their head wasn't one of them.