Social media posts read like highlight reels, showing only the best and most enviable moments. Learn how does social media affect self-esteem here.
73% of U.S. adults have used at least one type of social platform. These users are often logging in multiple times per day and spending hours’ of total time.
Social media allows us to stay connected no matter where we are. It brings us news and information in real-time. It has its benefits, but it also has its flaws. At least 26% of teen social media users feel worse about their life after use.
How does social media affect self-esteem? Social media can increase societal pressure and it forces us to compare ourselves with each other. Even though it helps us stay connected, it can also make us feel more isolated.
How Does Social Media Affect Self-Esteem?
The relationship between self-esteem and social media is a complicated one. Receiving likes and comments can make us feel special, but only for a limited time.
Having strong self-esteem should be based on more personal methods for gratification. This may include pride over our work, gratitude for our families and much more.
Instead, social media tricks us into thinking it’s improving our self-esteem. At the end of the day, we can’t tie our self worth to a number online. The long-term effects of social media include:
- Societal pressure to conform to beauty standards and lifestyles
- Comparing oneself to another
- Feelings of isolation from less authentic interactions
- Social media addiction to spend a lot of time on each platform
One of the main platforms that can affect self-esteem is Instagram. The relationship between Instagram and self-esteem is magnified because it’s a photo-based platform. Every time we log on, we’re faced with images that have been carefully selected to show the best parts of people’s lives.
Ultimately, we aren’t seeing the difficulties and flaws that make us all human.
One of the best ways to improve your self-esteem is to learn how to delete an Instagram account. You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to live without one and how much better you’ll feel afterward.
Societal Pressure
Social media increases societal pressure by rewarding certain types of content. In general, everyone likes to see the pretty parts of life. We like posts that are positive or happy and no one posts when they’ve had a bad day.
This can increase pressure to keep up a façade rather than addressing your true feelings.
If you’ve ever searched through Instagram’s Discover Feed, you’ll also notice that many of the top-performing posts are from celebrities or models. Social media tends to reward the “ideal” standard of beauty. This standard includes thin bodies and limited imperfections.
Furthermore, social media has increased Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). Posts that receive more engagement include fun activities like traveling and getting together with friends. When was the last time you saw someone post while watching TV or sitting on the couch?
Social media can make it feel like the most normal parts of your day aren’t productive enough.
Comparing Yourself to Others
One of the biggest ways social media affects self-esteem is by forcing us to compare ourselves with others.
Through social media, we have the unique opportunity to see what we’re doing every day. Before digital media was widely available, we could only keep in touch with the people who were closest to us. Now, we know what all our friends are doing, what they’re wearing, where they’re working and more.
If you’re feeling down about yourself, social media makes it worse. It gives you a window into other people’s lives of whom may have already reached your personal goals. They may seem like they have everything you want, but you never get to see the negative aspects of their lives.
Instead of celebrating what we have, social media allows us to see everything we’re missing.
Isolation and Less Authentic Interactions
Feelings of isolation often come from social media and low self-esteem. Ironically, the “social” part of social media can make us feel lonelier.
Usually, online engagement consists of likes or short comments. It’s all just different pushes of a button.
Authentic interactions need to be personable and authentic. When you get together with friends, you probably talk about what’s wrong in your life along with what’s good.
You can commiserate together in person. Online, you’re having limited interactions and probably aren’t taking the time to dig deep into conversations.
If you aren’t seeing anything on social media that you can relate to, it can make you feel like you don’t belong. While others are posting sunny vacation photos or nights out with friends, you might feel like you’re the only one without those experiences.
The truth is that you’re only seeing everyone else’s highlight reel. Many other people are probably going through the same thing as you, but they aren’t posting about it.
Social Media Addiction
Social media wears down on our self-esteem by creating an addiction. Even when it makes us feel bad, we keep coming back.
Our reliance on social media is created through a reward system. Every time we get likes and interactions, we want to keep coming back for more. Even if we post something that doesn’t get as much interaction, we’ll be more inclined to try again.
Social media algorithms are designed to favor each post differently, so it’s a lot like gambling. One post might get 100 or more likes depending on the time of day that you post, but another posted at a similar time could get 30% less.
FOMO also fuels social media addiction. Many people fear that deleting their accounts could make them miss out on big parts of their friends’ lives. The truth is, the same people will be there to talk to on the phone and in-person even if you can’t see everything they’re doing throughout the day.
How to Decrease Social Media Use
If you use social media a lot, you probably wonder how does social media affect self-esteem? The hard truth is that it harms our self-esteem through unhealthy reliance.
To feel better, decrease your social media use. You can delete your accounts or try to schedule the time that you can log in.
Either way, make sure your social media use is healthy and helps enrich your life rather than making it seem worse.
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