Is Social Media Making You More Insecure?
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A startling poll, from Huffington Post, revealed that 60 percent of social media users revealed that their use of social media has negatively impacted their self-esteem and 51 percent said it made them feel insecure about the way they look. While you can schedule weight loss injections at The Institute of Natural Health to make you feel better about yourself, it goes deeper than that.
Let’s get into how social media might be causing you to be more insecure.
Comparison: The Thief of Security
Social media makes it all too easy for us to step inside the world of others. By doing so, we are constantly comparing ourselves to hundreds of people each day. With each swipe or scroll, we are looking at someone who looks nothing like us. In turn, we start to compare ourselves – and not in a good way. We focus on what they have that we don’t.
In turn, this constant comparison leads to insecurity. We start to believe that because we don’t look like these Instagram models that something must be wrong with us. When this couldn’t be further than the truth. Because often, social media influencers make good use of apps like filters and photoshop. Which leads us to the next point in social media leading to insecurities.
Photoshop, Filters, Oh My!
As technology becomes more advanced, applications like photoshop and filters become more realistic. This causes major issues when it comes to feeling insecure. We are bombarded with accounts of people that look flawless, poreless, cellulite-less. We start to believe that this is what people actually look like. Yet, we look in the mirror and see these normal, human characteristics and believe something is wrong with us.
Filters cause us to lose touch with reality, what real humans look like. This leads us to feel insecure about our appearance. When the truth of the matter is, everyone has “flaws.” Aging is natural, acne is natural, loose skin is natural. Social media makes us believe the opposite, which has a severe negative impact on our self-esteem causing us to feel more insecure.
“Likes” Anxiety
We used to feel valued and worthy just by conversations with friends. Social media has changed the game for this one. Now, we measure our self-worth and value by the amount of “likes” we get on a social media post. If we get less “likes” one day, we start to question if people really like us. We feel as though we aren’t good enough, and that’s why people aren’t double tapping our posts.
“Likes” anxiety is a very real thing if you’re a social media user. Instagram tried to combat this, even, by allowing you to hide your “likes” on posts. Yet, this made little to no difference, as you - as a poster - can still see the amount of likes on your post. Instead of feeling worthy for just being yourself, you start to rely on social media interactions to make you feel secure. This has an enormous impact on your overall wellbeing, and it’s no surprise it leads to insecurities.
