How Social Networks Can Affect Self-Esteem
How Social Networks Can Affect Self-Esteem
Sociologists recognize that lifestyles are evolving worldwide; one of the most apparent trends is the spread of screen-based devices. For instance, studies have shown that in lower-income nations, particularly in emerging countries such as Sub-Saharan Africa (Kolhar et al. 2217). In one respect, such a tendency marks the increase in the quality of life and, subsequently, may qualify as positive. On the contrary, gadgets simplify taking pictures and writing posts, which enables creating fake identities to seem to be wealthier or happier than the individual actually is. This, in turn, may harm the self-esteem of those who visit the page, making them compare themselves with its owner. Meanwhile, youngsters are impressible and readily affected, for which reason they may begin to underestimate themselves.
It would not be reasonable, however, to proclaim that a direct causal relationship exists between using social media and poor self-esteem. Rather, the former may aggravate the existing factors that affect the sense of self-worth, such as social anxiety or envy (Jiang and Ngien 1, 8). In addition, it is possible to assume that the quality of online interactions with other people plays a more considerable role in mental wellness than social media presence in general does (Zhao and Zhang 273). Simply stated, a person who has no communicative issues is not as probable to suffer from low self-esteem in comparison with someone who has difficulty in healthy relationships.
Depression and Social Media
In addition to lower self-worth, overuse of media platforms apparently is associated with a higher probability of depression. Thus, Auxier and Anderson insist on the correlation between the time that school students spent on Facebook and the frequency of depressive disorders in them (21). Zhao and Zhang support these findings, stating that people who spend more time online and maintain their Facebook photos have a higher prevalence of clinical symptoms of major depression (273). The reason is guessable from the outcomes of the survey of university students in the United States; according to them, greater Facebook use is connected with increased loneliness (Zhao and Zhang 273). Presumably, the thought that the contacts, which can be quite numerous, are virtual causes despair and demotivates people from real-life communication, causing apathy that can develop into depression in a certain period.
To summarize, it is apparent through the lens of sociology that excessive use of social media is associated with worse mental health. Regrettably, young people, who are the most active visitors of networking sites, are disproportionately more likely to acquire psychical issues such as depression. In addition, the self-esteem of individuals who have social anxiety or similar problems, which actually are quite common in youngsters, may become lower because they tend to compare themselves to others.
