How Social Media Kills Confidence

A few months ago I was scrolling through Instagram feeling extremely envious and self-conscious. Staring at pictures of all my friends at the beach and celebrities with their boyfriends, I felt like my life was dull compared to theirs. Why were their lives so glamorous? Why don’t I look like that? What am I doing wrong? The more I reflected on my use of social media, I realized, people only post the attractive parts of their life. They only post the pictures of them laying out on the beach during a vacation or strolling downtown in a cute outfit on date night, not about their mental illness or about the times they have cried themselves to sleep at night because life wasn’t going their way. Though it may appear on social media that our lives aren’t as appealing as others, we don’t know everything going on in another person’s life, and we should not base how we feel about ourselves with other people's internet facades. People only fill their social media lives with the best.

The American Academy of Pediatrics released a study on a phenomenon called “Facebook Depression”. This is when people show clinical signs of depression after using social media. Some may not think that browsing your news feed or pictures of others may not impact confidence, but it does. You may not be aware of it, but when you go through photos of other people it’s natural to make assumptions about them - things like “that vacation looks so nice”, “she has a very nice car”, and “they always have such cute clothes”. The more you make assumptions, the more it affects your self-confidence, and the more envious you feel. A study by the Center for Eating Disorders, showed that after being on social media, users age’s 16-40 were more self-conscious of their body. 51 percent said that they felt more conscious of their weight after spending time on Facebook and over a third wanted to change specific body parts on themselves. That’s a lot of sad people. Germany researcher, Mark Wilson, call this “self-promotion-envy spiral,” and it happens when users compare themselves to the people they follow. This makes you feel not good enough in your life and messes greatly with your confidence.

The use of filters and posting only the “happiest” pictures makes you (and all of us) feel like we are missing out. However, when talking with my friend Sarah, she mentioned that she loves social media because it makes her feel more confident and loved. She stated that every time she feels a little down about herself she will post a picture and watch as all the likes and comments fill her feed. Comments like “wow you’re so pretty” or “I wish I had your life”. According to Sarah, Instagram creates a sense of belonging and acceptance because you can post whatever you want and people will compliment you for “being yourself”. A study led by Cornell University showed that social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, “remind us of whom we really are and Facebook can show a positive version of ourselves.” This leads people to see a more positive image of their life when they see all their pictures of their trips, birthdays, dates concerts, and nights out all clumped together, which makes feel nostalgic and accomplished.

Contrary to Sarah, I believe that social media kills confidence. There are many more negative effects than positive when using social media consistently, and is what needs to change. What would happen if you went electronic free for a day? What would happen if you logged out of your Instagram for a week? Fill your time with mental images instead of digital ones.