The influence of social networks on our self-esteem

Nowadays, we constantly share moments of our lives through the internet. We post our photos, videos and thoughts hoping to receive a “like” in return. So that? Do we need approval from people we don’t see often to feel like our life is exciting?

The reality is that this can have a great influence of social networks on our self-esteem. And not only because of the number of interactions we get with a publication. Although we are not entirely aware of it, there are more factors to take into account to avoid self-esteem problems associated with the use of new technologies.

The importance of social media posts on our self-esteem

It is common to follow on social networks influencers, brands or magazines whose publications are more similar to advertising than to the daily lives of people in general. In fact, It is common that the purpose of these publications is to cover a specific product.

So, Unrealistic images of what we should be like and what our daily lives should be like come to our mobile phones. They send us a stereotype of beauty and lifestyle that is not easily achievable. This can make us uncomfortable and is part of the impact of social networks on our self-esteem.

When we see that our reality does not correspond to what it is supposed to be, internal conflict appears. Seeing these publications we can set unrealistic and difficult to achieve objectives and goals. In this way, when we see that we do not achieve it, our self-esteem decreases.

The pace of life that other people follow on social networks is difficult for ordinary people to achieve. We do not have the income to travel as much as they do, nor to eat in the same places, nor can we live in the same houses. But that does not directly imply that our life is worse, but simply that it is different.

The impact of social networks on our self-esteem is seen in our self-image

The reality is that it not only affects the goals we can set in life. That’s not even where it has the greatest impact. The biggest problem that social networks can cause in our self-esteem has to do with each person’s self-image.. In general, it is perceived that a feminine image is projected that is inclined towards extreme thinness.

The fact is that the self-image that each person desires for themselves, in general, is quite close to the prototype that is reflected by the influencers and brands on social networks. The impact of all this on self-esteem is greater as the time of exposure as well as the frequency of connection to social networks increases. As you can imagine, the biggest risk of all this is that eating disorders appear.

But this situation does not only affect women. In a study by Aparicio-Martínez et al. (2017) it was found, apart from what was already mentioned, that men also sought to look more like the stereotype of boys with muscular bodies that appear in this type of media. The difference between both sexes is that men have less concern when it comes to reaching the beauty canon.

Of course, we must keep in mind that this does not happen to everyone. In this line, Having good self-esteem is a protective factor against everything we have talked about. Therefore, it is important 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 impact of social networks on our self-esteem!

Images courtesy of Rawpixel and Christian Wiediger.

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