Today we constantly share moments in our lives on the Internet, but have we ever stopped thinking about the influence of social media on self-esteem?
We display photos, videos and thoughts in the hope of receiving a “Like” in return. For what, do we need the approval of people we don’t even see often to feel that our lives are exciting?
- The truth is that all of this can have a significant impact on our self-esteem.
- And not just because of the number of interactions we have with a post.
- Although we are not entirely aware of this.
- There are more factors to consider to avoid.
- Self-esteem issues associated with the use of new technologies.
“In the past, that’s what you had. Now, is that what you share?. – Godfried Bogaard-
It is common to follow influencers, brands or magazines on social media whose publications are more advertisements than the daily lives of people in general, in fact, it is common for the purpose of these publications to cover a specific product.
“Social media eliminates intermediaries, giving brands the unique opportunity to have a direct relationship with their customers. “- Bryan Weiner-
Thus, unrealistic images of how we and our day-to-day should be transmitted to our mobile phones. We are presented with a stereotype of beauty and lifestyle that is not easily achievable and can lead to discomfort. So it’s part of the impact of social media on our self-esteem.
When we see that our reality does not correspond to what it is supposed to be, an internal conflict arises, seeing these publications we can set unrealistic and difficult goals and goals, so when we see that we have not achieved it, our self-esteem decreases.
The pace of life of some people can be difficult for ordinary people to follow, we don’t have the same budget to travel as much as they do, or to eat in the same places, nor can we live in the same type of house. But that doesn’t mean our lives are worse, it’s just different.
The truth is that it not only affects the goals that we can set ourselves in life, it is not even the biggest impact in this regard, the biggest problem that social networks can pose in our self-esteem is related to the self. -image of each one. In general, we notice that a female image is projected that turns towards extreme finesse.
The point is that the self-image everyone wants, in general, gets very close to the model that influencers and brands reflect on social media, and the impact of all this on self-esteem is all the greater as the exposure time increases, as is the frequency of connection on social networks. Not for nothing, the greatest risk of all this is the onset of eating disorders.
But this situation doesn’t just affect women. A study by Aparicio-Martinez et al. (2017) notes, in addition to the aforementioned, that men also seek to address the stereotype of muscular men that appears in this type of media. The difference between the two sexes is that men are less concerned about reaching the level of beauty.
“There is a human being behind every tweet, blog and email. Chris Brogan-
However, it must be taken into account that this does not happen to everyone, in that sense having good self-esteem is a protective factor against everything we have talked about in this article, so it is essential to be aware of the importance of other aspects of life to feel good about yourself, so that our psychological well-being is maintained?For a realistic social media impact on our self-esteem!
Images courtesy of Rawpixel and Christian Wiediger.