How Does Social Media Affect Self Esteem

The use of technology and social media has become very prevalent in the 21st century. Almost everyone in the United States owns some kind of social media account. According to Statista.com, “In 2017, 81 percent of U.S. Americans had a social media profile, representing a five percent growth compared to the previous year.” While the number of users increases every year, it seems as though the number of people who prefer to live in the “virtual world” also increases. I believe that social media sites create isolation for all individuals. There are so many distractions on these sites that most people cannot even focus on the present. These sites also provide an illusion of companionship. While many believe they are finding their “soulmates” online, in reality they are only living in a fantasy. A person’s self-image is also affected by social media. Some believe that all the “likes” and “comments” can boost self-confidence, but if you are not receiving any of these things, then what is the point.

Clarissa Silva article in the Huffington Post delves into social media’s impact on self-esteem. As a behavioral scientist, her interest in the matter relates to her field. She also gets the help of other experts Dr. Jennifer Rhodes, Natalia Lusinski, and Dr. Suzana Flores to help with her research. Silva states that “social media is linked to higher levels of loneliness, envy, anxiety, depression, narcissism and decreased social skills" (1). Then outlines her research findings using rhetorical appeals.

Not just women are changing their physical appearances to try and resemble celebrities; men are too. Jordan James Parke claims to have spent over $150,000 trying to achieve Kim Kardashian's look as well. Parke has obtained Botox injections, laser hair removal, eyebrow tattoos and lip-plumping surgeries to try and mimic the Kardashians appearance. Parke has faced criticism and backlash for the cosmetic changes, but he is pleased with the way that he looks and wants to continue to attain more plastic surgery in the future.

Social Networking in the 21st century is raising awareness and caused the society negatively when technologies came out. When a person gets home from school or work, the first thing the person did was logging in Facebook, Instagram, and other social network. Physical interactions compared to only talking behind a keyboard are much better ways to express ourselves. The article, “Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?” by Stephan Marche, he explained how the social network could affect loneliness at times. Marche believes that the social network can benefit people for their isolation who had never use media network. He studied the technology that can isolate us from the real world. The technologies can affect many ways through peoples’ relationship in their families and friends. I disagree with Marche, because I believe people should limit on the technologies for their use knowledge and try to avoid being isolated.

Social media has connected us in ways we never imagined, and also introduced us to a world much larger than our humble backyards. Nowadays, nearly everyone has a Facebook, an Instagram, or a Twitter account. Grandparents, teenagers, children, and even some pets are a part of one social network or another. Websites like Facebook are great for sharing pictures, stories, and interests, but they are also capable of raising awareness about important issues that may have been overlooked before. Recently, the overused of Facebook was thought to promote negative psychology well-being, including depression and loneliness. It 's safe to say that the world has become hopelessly addicted to social media. Plenty of people can 't make it through the day or in extreme cases a few hours without popping on their computers or scrolling through their smart phones to check the newsfeed on Facebook. As Stephen Marche says in his article, "Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?," Facebook makes us miserable and creates loneliness. In fact, even though there are some evidences showed that we 're more detached or lonely than ever because given Facebook is about social relationships; however, the site also offers an extraordinary vast number of ways to connect with others. This is just a taste of what Facebook can do, and with a huge number of people utilizing them, its possibilities are only growing. To be brief, Facebook does not replace real human relationship or create loneliness, but it does not

Facebook has been a one of the biggest phenomenons for the past decade and has had a huge affect mostly on the younger population. Technological determinism is that technology is a force for social change and Facebook does have some of the aspects of this. It is factor of “The Global Village” because we rely on it to connect with other people from all over the world. Facebook has fortified behaviors such as narcissism and shyness. In the younger generations Facebook has problems with dependency and addiction for it’s users. It has become a social norm in the younger generation to have a Facebook account and the younger generation who do not are in the small percentage. “Facebook (2014) reveal that as of March 2014 there were 1.28 billion active users on the site per month, and at least 802 million of these users logged into Facebook every day.”(Ryan,133). It is the most used social media site in the world and It has become apart of over 800 million people’s everyday lives. It seems sometimes people are controlled by Facebook it becomes apart of them. Technological determinism and Facebook share some of the same qualities but are not completely intertwined with each other.

At some point in our lives, each of us has let others’ opinions about us influence our perception of ourselves. Whether you’re feeling sad because of a spat with a friend, or elated because of a compliment from your boss on a job well done, you are allowing others’ opinions of you to influence how you feel about yourself.

The social media app Facebook makes people feel disconnected from social experiences and generates a fear of missing out therefore Facebook is a prime source for

How many times a day do you find yourself pressing refresh on your favorite social media feed? The social media platform has grown to be bigger than anyone expected. It has taken over our lives and it controls our opinions, thoughts, and ideas. We are heavily influenced by social media and what it allows us to see. It seems as if people are stuck in a trap that they don’t realize they are in. The problem has been acknowledged, yet people continue to constantly post and wait for their favorite celebrity to update their status. Social media affects our lives in more ways than one, including creating a new identity, leading to low self-esteem, causing a lack of privacy, and resulting in the loss of social skills.

According to an interview of both men and women aged twenty-eight to seventy-three conducted by the Huffington Post, sixty percent of people reported that social media had a negative effect on their self-esteem. Fifty percent of those people also reported that social media had a negative effect on their relationships and eighty percent said that it is extremely easy to be deceived by others on social media. Preteen girls are too vulnerable and not properly equipped to be on social media. Social media is a place where we compare our backstage lives to others controlled and curated lives, easily falling into the trap of not being able to distinguish between fact and fiction. Adults often have a hard time determining the difference, meaning preteen girls are especially susceptible to the lies of social media.

Currently, there is a significant amount of individuals with low self-esteem in the world. Each day this number increases because of the discouragement of being unique. Doctor Joe Rubino recently stated that “85% of the world’s population is affected by low self-esteem.” In recent times, the media, Adobe Photoshop, and professional modeling have become prevalent in lives. These sources of negativity are the significant causes of this growing problem of low self-esteem.

After reading the article, "Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?", many things were brought to my attention about social media. Marche wrote in Is Facebook Making Us Lonely, "In 1950, less than 10 percent of American households contained on one person. By 2010, nearly 27 percent of households had just one person." Although many use Facebook to stay connected with family and friends but, in reality it is causing people to be more reclusive. People are using Facebook, as well as other social media sites to socialize with friends and family instead fellowshipping with others in person like we use to. Facebook has caused people to lose many social skills. Some people can portray themselves as being extremely social, but when it comes to socializing in public it can be a completely different story. Being cordial,

Although, I believe social media is an extraordinary platform to share thoughts and ideas, it truly does have a lasting effect on how we portray ourselves to be. Through various social media platforms, which include Facebook, Instagram, and others make it easily accessible to mainly focus on the crucial moments in our lives. These applications allow humans to present themselves as being acceptable to the social norm. Naturally, as humans, we enjoy having this idea of a perfect life and to do so, we display pictures that make us appear as having a socially acceptable life. One study a few years ago found that Facebook use was less linked to both less moment-to-moment happiness and life satisfaction. We as humans, compare ourselves to

Since social media is a relatively new concept, many of the practical implications of using social networking sites are still being studied. For many research psychologists and sociologists alike, how use of social media affects one’s individual self-esteem, well-being, and overall mental health is a great area of research. Previous research has yielded highly differing, and sometimes conflicting results. For example, in their systemic review of literature from 2003-2013, Best, Manktelow, and Taylor (2014), came to the conclusions that in general, the harmful effects from social media use included: increased exposure to harmful material, social isolation, depressive symptoms, and cyberbullying. The benefits they found included increased self-esteem, perceived social support, increased social capital, safe identity experimentation, and increased opportunity for self disclosure (35). There are many studies that contradict and many that support the conclusions drawn from the work reviewed in this particular study (Yang and Brown, 2016; Seidman, 2014; Feinstein et al., 2013), revealing the importance of identifying the differences in methods and variables considered between current literature on such a topic. Social comparison (Lee, 2014; Vogel et al. 2014) and social capital (Ellison, Steinfield, and Lampe 2007; Steinfield, Ellison, and Lampe 2008) have been determined to be what affect a person’s well being after Facebook use, but these studies don’t account for the

As technology progress, humans evolve to the advanced technology and enhance our lives via technology. We connect to our families, friends and others through social media such as Facebook. Social media takes up a huge part in our lives. Social media infest us with information that are relevant and irrelevant to us. Marry Marrow wrote, “It was Facebook that changed the face of e-communication; in fact, it was the first electronic social media” (para 1). She assumes that Facebook is playing a huge role in electronic communication. In the journalist Maria Konnikova, “How Facebook makes us unhappy?”, Konnikova divulges many aspects of people on social media through researching and experience, and finds how social makes us unhappy. I agree with Konnikova findings after reading her article. In addition, she concludes that if you are engaged, active, and creative you will not sorrowful on Social media, however if you are passively browsing and defuse to engage, you will be depressed.