It is hard to imagine modern life without social media. Lots of people, especially young adults, are spending too much time with their faces glued to their devices. But why? What is so addictive about social media? Why do more and more people want to become bloggers?
The answer is simple. Social platforms have the power to build up one’s self-esteem higher than Everest. Online people find a way to make themselves noticed and appreciated by others. Here we want to reveal what is the effect of social media on your self-esteem and whether it is good or bad for you.
It Is All About Statistics
Popularity on social platforms like Instagram or Facebook can be defined by big numbers of followers, likes, and comments. That is the reason why every blogger from any niche is so persuasive in their wish to gain more and more. The key to becoming influential on a certain social platform is to pick the interest of the biggest number of people. So they are constantly looking where they can find real subscribers. Watching your numbers grow is very flattering. It means that you’re approved by society and make you think that you made something meaningful.
Even though having a big audience can make you feel very pleased with yourself, it can also lead you to narcissism. That is a smart term for extra selfish people. But being selfish is bad for you, because you lose empathy and become careless. No need to get altruistic at once, yet caring about other things in life besides your number of subscribers can only improve your life. Also, when you are blinded by the quantity, it is easy to lose quality.
Feeling Needed
Nowadays, social platforms are not used solely for entertainment. They have become instruments for getting information and education. However surprising it may be, but there are tutorials and how-to’s about basically everything on YouTube. You can learn how to draw, sing, flip coins, do math, programming… The list is endless. And all you need as a teacher is to understand how to get yourself an audience.
Sharing your experience online helps you make a valuable contribution to humanity. Thanks to you lots of people will be happier having their new skills. Your only concern has to be about bringing out something worth sharing with others. Although, there are so many people in the world. Somebody will definitely find your videos amusing and useful.
The Illusion Of Perfection
That is one of the biggest problems that affect you. Social media are an instrument that helps to create a perfect life, despite if the reality is not. Ideal photographs of popular influencers make us forget that they are real people too. And they don’t want to show off their bad sides to the public. But human psychology works like that. Whatever you want this or not, you will compare yourself to people who you consider as influencers for you. That leads to anxiety – I am not thin enough, not smart enough, not professional enough, etc. Such thoughts can lead to depressive moods and problems with the perception of yourself.
Remember – everything that celebrities and brands post, is carefully sorted out to create an illusion. Their only goal is to engage consumers. And there are not so many people, who truly share every aspect of their life, with all its bugs and features.
Loss Of Connection With Real-life
That is a deep impact of our addiction to social platforms. We may not notice it, but we tend to check with our phones for news and notifications from social apps very often. Simply watching a movie or going to the restaurant is not enough. There have to be Stories and status updates. So everybody knows you are there, doing this stuff. The food photographs on Instagram are longshot jokes, but the sad truth is out there. People are slowly replacing the impressions and emotions of their offline life by online substitutes.
Many addicted users are experiencing loneliness, but they lose the skill to socialize with people. Even asking someone out on Tinder, they don’t understand how to behave later, when meeting face-to-face.
In a long perspective, the life of an observer can lead to severe problems, like eating disorders, anxiety, sociopathy, and problems with sleeping.
How To Avoid Problems With Self-esteem While Using Social Media
- Control your time online. Reducing your time on social apps to half of an hour will improve your mental health and give you the possibility to accomplish many more things during the day.
- Don’t let the illusion of perfection get to you. This is not real life. Repeat that like a mantra each time you start feeling envy or disappointment and you will be fine.
- Differ useful information that helps you to become a better version of yourself, from the junk that provokes you to make severe changes to your personality and body. You should never forget, that you are beautiful without botox in your lips and silicone in your lady parts, even if insta-models say you are not. They are wrong.
- Prefer going out to online communication. Having a connection with people who are far away from you is good. But don’t lose contact with your beloved ones who are right here. Spending time with your favorite people helps your body to produce dopamine, a hormone for happiness. No social media can give you that.
- Photos of your trip/lunch/college reunion can be uploaded LATER. You should enjoy meeting people and speaking to them rather than doing countless selfies. Don’t let the moments of your life get past you, because no photographs will be a complete substitution.