The Influence Social Media has on an Individuals Self-Esteem

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Psychology

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Dec 6, 2023

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running head: THE INFLUENCE SOCIAL MEDIA HAS ON AN INDIVIDUAL’S SELF ESTEEM The Influence Social Media has on an Individuals Self-Esteem Meghan Nelson Utah Valley University

Abstract As social media usage has increased over the years and has become more popular and accessible it has become more of a topic of concern in social psychology. The cause for this concern is the risk it has to harm an individual's mental health and self-esteem. Social media is accessible and used by various age groups, making the potential for psychological harm very likely across all age groups. Researchers have taken more of an interest in this topic for those reasons. As we see the negative that can come from social media, there can also be positive that can come from it. This paper will go over previous research done of both the negatives and positives of social media, as well as present a research project that can help provide more insight on the influence of social media. The goal for the research project is to not only provide more insight, but to provide a potential solution to the problem. Introduction In the United States there are 302.35 million social media users, that is approximately 90% of the US population (Shewale, 2023). The average time users spend on social media every day is two hours and sixteen minutes (Guttmann, 2023) and in that time there is exposure to countless things that can impact an individual's mental health and self-esteem. Summer Allen (2019) explained that social media usage is impacting individuals' day to day life. She talks about social displacement which is the belief that social media replaces face to face interaction which in return reduces well-being. Limited face to face interaction can result in more feelings of loneliness, depression and anxiety. Social media is an attempt to feel the void of those type of interactions, but it does more damage than good. It’s a version of the real world that is glamorized and perfected. Exposure to that leaves individuals feeling negative about their life

and creates feelings of not being good enough. The feeling of being accepted is giving through “likes” and other reactions. The more likes you get the more relevant you are. As we look into research that has been done, we can take action and find a way to change the influence of social media to something more positive and less damaging. Literature Review Social media has shown to have the potential to do a lot of damage to an individual, one of those things bring damaging ones social identity. Walaa Elsayed (2021) did research on this exact topic and argued that if adolescents do not receive the proper guidance and help as they are developing their social identity then their mental health will suffer from that. The guidance he brings up is proving them with structure, giving them opportunities to get out and socialize, and encouragement. He hypothesized that specifically children and adolescents are not developing their social identity due to using all of their free time for social media usage. Self esteem can be heavily influenced by the things that are shown and advertised online. It is easy to compare and wish for more when there is constant exposure to what is deemed as perfection online. Ali Dayi (2023) talks about social media usage and how studies have shown that higher usage is linked to lower self esteem. He referred to this high usage as a social media addiction because of how much it is being used. He hypothesized that there is a relationship between low self esteem and social media and is damaging especially to adolescents as they are developing their own identity. It has only been recently that social media has become as popular and is used as much as it is. Nawaz Ahmad (2017) talks about how early 21 st century was when we started seeing judge growth in social media. Since then social media sites have had more of a heavy influence in

numerous ways. He discusses a study that was done where it was found that on Facebook 88% of people engage in making social comparisons, which shows the link between social media and the influence it has on self esteem. He is own research that he did it he found that social media had a very strong influence on self esteem, and that most people do make comparisons with others. His hypothesis was that there is a relationship between social media and self-esteem. Social comparison so something that naturally happens as people are looking at what others are posting on social media and comparing it to their life and what they do or don’t have. Stefano Tartaglia (2018) discussed that comparison can occur with not only comparing themselves to others online, but also comparing themselves with others based on the amount of likes and comments they get. In her own research she found that individuals with low self esteem and those that compare themselves to others spend more time on social media. Her hypothesis was that self-esteem is negatively associated with the amount of time spent on Facebook. Social media usage has also been linked to increased mental health problems. John Alder (2020) makes the point that humans are naturally social creatures, and have a need for social connections and interactions. Social media is taking away that connection, and that is cause for serious concern. He discusses a study that was done where it was found that prolonged usage of social media results in higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress. It also creates a stereotype of the need to be popular and liked. In his own research he conducted it was found that 70% of individuals that participated and were exposed to social media had an increase in depressive symptoms. His hypothesis was that social media does negatively influence mental health. Hasan Beyari (2023) also talks about this topic and makes a point on how mental health is a very important part of human well-being and is often overlooked. As people have their own identities online, it is easy to forget that those we are following snd interacting with are real

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