The “self” is an identity that is formed through an individual’s experiences and exploration throughout the course of their life; it is ever changing. In an individual’s discovery of their “self”, self-esteem, one’s confidence in their abilities as an individual or “self” can impact their level of happiness. As a result, an individual’s self-esteem in terms of performance, behavior, and body image can weaken or strengthen their emotional stability.
There is a lot of pressure to be that “self”, not only in present day, but also in the past, before the Baby Boomer era. Many people try to find themselves without knowing what a “self” is. A “self” as explained by Twenge, in the generation of the Baby Boom, is one’s journey of learning and getting to know who you truly are and is a new concept that arose when “social structures began to loosen and people started to make more choices for themselves….an autonomous, free person” (Twenge 488-4899). Twenge’s word choice such as, “loosen” and “free” creates a sense of awaking and freedom in the term “self”. A person is breaking out of an idealized image and becoming the “self”. However, Twenge’s argument that it has become “a new concept” fairly recently, is debatable. Self is an identity and it is not something that just popped up recently. People still struggle to find and express themselves, the only thing that has changed, are the societal norms and people’s decision to speak up about their true “self”. While trying to prove her
The self could be defined simply as the sense of who we are, and who we are is created and developed over time and through interactions with other individuals in society. Charles Horton Cooley compares the development of self to a mirror in which an individual’s self is basically a reflection of how we think we are viewed by society. This idea of the “looking-glass self” focuses on how we imagine others see us opposed to how they really see us. There are three phases of the looking-glass self that repeats throughout life. In the first phase, an individual imagines he or she appear to others. The second phase involves imagining how others would judge him or her, based off that appearance. In the final phase, the individual uses the assumptions from the first two phases to define his or her
Self esteem is the component of a person's personality that dictates how they view themselves. People with healthy self-esteem
An individual may use this description of themselves to assess the value of the self. This is considered to be a person's "self-esteem," or the way in which an individual views their worth. A
Most people face self esteem problems at different levels. At some point in life people face this problem without realizing it. In the essay The Trouble with Self-Esteem written by Lauren Slater starts of by demonstrating a test. Self esteem test that determines whether you have a high self-esteem or low self-esteem. The question to be answered however is; what is the value and meaning of self-esteem? The trouble with self-esteem is that not everyone approaches it properly, taking a test or doing research based of a certain group of people is not the way to do so.
The concept of self esteem is widespread in life. When it comes to academics and extracurricular actives people associate high self esteem is necessary for success. Society makes promoting self esteem an important goal. With that in mind, it is surprising that only recently scientific literature began providing insight into the nature of development of self esteem.
In addition to revealing to people what the true "self" of others was, Jean Twenge explains in "An Army of One: Me" that the "self" is changing with generation after another specifically in the twentieth century. Twenge argues that over the second half of the twentieth century, American's have become more about individual celebration rather than the being worried about other. This new change in individualism had a direct correlation how the "self" is now viewed, "[f]or the Boomers, who grew up in the 1950s and 1960s, self-focus was a new concept, individualism an uncharted territory... which is why many Boomers talk about the "self" using language full of abstraction,
Self- esteem is used to describe a person's overall sense of self- worth or personal value.
An individual’s opinion of who and what they helps them form and develop their own individuality. It is established through the individual’s behaviour and attitude. It relates to how they view themselves and is associated with their own self-image, body image and self-esteem. Murphy (as cited by Gross, 2001) stated the self is part of the individual which is understood and know to by the individual them self. A person’s physical appearance is the first thing that is seen when they are in contact with others. If the individual feels positive and confident within themselves then this will influence the development of a strong and healthy life. This can also influence how they experience life allowing them to develop in a positive, healthy way and enabling them to build up strong relationships with others. Self concept can be based upon one’s own expectations and goals which they hold
Self-esteem is a highly valued attribute of human personality. However, it is less mercurial than the ups and downs associated with everyday mood changes. Due to the increasing population finding themselves within various cycles of diminishing self-worth, high self-esteem has become less common today than in the past. These cycles, the most prominent being the cycles of media, perfection, and abuse, continuously revolve around themselves and lower the esteem of those within them. The root of low self-esteem lies within reversible social and psychological cycles of cause and effect, and only with the breaking of these cycles can self-esteem be improved.
People with low self-esteem were often given messages—from parents, teachers, peers, or others—that failed experiences (losing a game, getting a poor grade, etc.) were failures of their whole self. Self esteem is also based on the contingency of self-worth; this refers to specific domain in people’s lives that they consider important for their self –esteem.
I always pictured self esteem as the amount of actual steam in a tea pot. The more steam one had the better they would feel. Sadly, my teapot was often running low. I wanted to be confident and not care what others thought about me, but it felt like the
On the topic of “self” versus “no self,” I believe that there is a core self, a unique sense of identity as separate from others, and that seeks self-actualization. However, like Hoffman, Stewart, Warren, and Meek, in their 2009 article “Toward a Sustainable Myth of Self: An Existential Response to the Postmodern Condition,” I believe that the self develops within a framework provided by the society in which the individual lives in, which contains aspects of self that are fluid enough to appropriately suit the individual within the appropriate context to their perceived role in society and their environment. I also believe that the separation of self into two categories physical self, and spiritual self, are integrated into the individual’s
Two things can happen when we are required to base our definition of “self” on others. One can take others’ ways of living and thinking, process them, and formulate his or her own definition, independent of anyone else. Or, one can use the relationships he or she has with other people on which to base their own definition of self, thus making him or her dependent on those other people. As young people, we learn and take in all we can through the world, our experiences, and relationships with other people. From there, we grow and establish our own identities, our own “selves”, in response to those interactions with others. This definition is continually growing and progressing as we evolve as people, interacting with different people in different environments and
Defined as “the entire person of an individual” (Merriam-Webster, 2017), it is interesting to consider the different ways ‘the self’ has been interpreted through different societies. In Foucault’s Societies of Discipline (S.O.D), a previous economy of power, it would have been simple to define the self – discipline “’makes’ individuals” (Foucault, 1977, p.170) and in doing so this intrinsic sense of the self. However does this hold true in our current social scenario? Deleuze states that the
Self concepts begins in childhood but it continues to develop throughout life. As we observe how other people react to us, we modify our “self.” The “self” is never a finished project, and it continues to change as our life takes different turns. Our “self” reacts to the environment that we are in.