How Social Media Impacts Self Esteem

In today's world, social media has become a huge component for almost every single human being. There are millions, if not billions of accounts that are created across various types of social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. It provides us all with a platform to do an endless amount of things. You can communicate and connect with individuals who live in a different state or country, share your opinions on any situation, or even distribute and receive valuable knowledge that you didn't know about. You may believe that social media does not pose a threat towards today's youth or future generations, but as it turns out, there is actually one major problem it is causing that not too many people focus on. That problem is affecting our self esteem, which is very vital for our adolescent years.

To begin, self esteem plays an important role in having respect for yourself, as well as keeping you motivated in completing the goals and tasks that we set for ourselves. This is heavily reflected towards our childhood and teen years. Our earliest childhood experiences help shape and mold our self esteem, which basically lays down the foundation for our self worth and respect. During our teenage years, the experiences start to take a less toll on your self esteem, although they do still affect it in some way. Now, its focus shifts to our social bonds and the individual personas we have that opposes the self esteem that we are still working on in this stage. If you incorporate the heavy use of social media into either one of these important life stages that we undergo, then you will start to see a decline in your self esteem. You'll start comparing yourself to others who post the lavish and luxurious life that they live. This in turn will hinder your esteem and only lower it. Also, it'll leave you contrasting your life to the likes of others and judging your success based off of theirs. Comparing yourself to others is what's showing you the admiration you have for being and following what you see on social media. It is something that teens mostly struggle with as they try to find out their identity. When social media is involved, they are left in a circling never ending cycle questioning themselves if others will like who they are.

Not only this, but also, social media can leave you with presumptions that you will be setting to high for you to accomplish. It affects one's overall health, as we integrate the false images of what we should really be, but takes away the assurance that we should really have for ourselves. A primary example of this would be Instagram, as Instagram easily makes girls and women feel as if their bodies aren't good enough as people add filters and edit their pictures in order for them to look perfect' (MacMillan). This then leads to disorders that we may develop, such as body dysmorphia, anxiety, and depression. If your an addict on social media and spend countless hours on it , then it  could only worsen, as your chances of getting any of these disorders can only put you at a higher risk.

Finally, social media can make you feel bad about yourself. For instance, you could be scrolling through your newsfeed and you stumble upon a video of your friends going out and having fun. This will make you have a bad view about yourself, as you are missing out on an activity that your friends partaken in. As stated in the article, These feelings can promote a compare and despair' attitude.(MacMillan). The fear of missing out is something that social media users experience, as they feel they need to be up to date with what people are doing.

To sum things up, social media leaves major impacts on those who use it and should be taken seriously. With the increased use of these platforms, we should somehow monitor those who spend a certain amount of time that is concerning for their overall well being. We should bring light to the negatives and inform others of the personal impact social media leaves on the younger generation with, along with what it may leave and mean for all future generations. It could cost us all our self esteem and well being just for the sake of  getting a like on Instagram or being the center of attention on Twitter.

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