Social Media and Self Esteem

Did you recognize that 60% of social media users say that it's impacted their self-esteem in a very negative way? There are many alternative aspects to social media and its relationship with mental state, and in some cases, they have been shown. Social media impacts people's self-esteem negatively, by comparison, cyber-bullying, and the user's hunger for attention.

When looking on these websites, there are mostly things like happy faces, groups of friends having fun, and other pictures that are mostly composed of positive things. Some users have stated that they've seen that folks tend to only post the best versions of their life on their profiles. The Social Comparison Theory states that our personal self-image is dependent on how we compare ourselves to things around us, per the article “Social Comparison Theory: How Our Social Media Habits Make Us Unhappy” by Alexa Tanney. Even social media influencer Madison Beer left a comment on a post that showed the consequences on mental health from social media, she said “I struggle daily with my mental health/ confidence, please remember social media is barely a sliver into reality.” Even the users that have the foremost followers, likes, and positive comments can still have internal turmoil with their self-esteem due to the comparisons that flow through their minds while searching through their Instagram feed.

Since the beginning of the social media industry, cyberbullying has caused a significant issue. People have tried to prevent it, but it's very hard to require control over. As technology advances, these bullies have more access to those victims, therefore worsening the problem. A pair of facts from the article “19 Social Media And Self Worth Facts You Wish To Know” by Dave Bowen states, 37% of all teens have only confessed to being a victim of cyberbullying a minimum of once, and quite 1/2 female victims have said to feel powerless as a result from the cruel comments they were getting. Receiving cruel comments can end up in anxiety, depression, low self-esteem issues, and plenty of other mental illnesses, according to the article “How Big of a Problem is Cyberbullying Among Teens?” Cyberbullying is taken into account far worse than “traditional” bullying because it happens constantly, twenty-four hours on a daily basis, seven days per week. For the victims, it's inevitable. In today's society, teens see social media as some way to attach and connect, so for several, there's no option to log out.

As humans, we seek validation. We live in a world where many are actively searching for some style of attention through social media. Per the article “What Your Facebook Activity Says About You”, people can become so obsessive about the number of likes or comments they think they need that it can detriment their self-worth. 'The irony with excessive status-seeking, self-aggrandizing posting is that it's an awfully strong indication of poor self-image, low self-confidence, and an excessive need for approval and validation from others,' licensed psychotherapist Joseph Cilona says. This implies that if individuals post about how glamorous or perfect their life is, it can show that they're seeking recognition from others to take care of a positive self-image. When one posts a photograph to their profile, they sometimes never stop contemplating over how they need flattering comments and a particular amount of likes, says writing named “Everyone On Social Media Is Seeking Some Reasonable Validation”. The author writes, “Refraining from posting anything on Instagram for 2 weeks has taught me to understand the great and therefore the bad in my life because I now don't want to experience moments supported by their acceptability on social media.” This highlights the belief that social media has morphed our perception of the moments we endure by making users feel the necessity to post them to urge some kind of validation.

In conclusion, social media has more negative effects than positive ones. Whether or not some say it's no impact, all may be affected in a very negative way whether or not they don’t know it. People’s self-image is negatively tormented by social media due to the comparison that goes through their minds, the mean comments people can receive, and the users' dependence on outside approval.

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