Social networks have become an essential element of daily life in the digital age, allowing people to communicate. Researchers have discovered that while social networks are frequently promoted to combat loneliness and provide social support. A growing body of research suggests that excessive use of these networks might harm self-esteem (Coulthard & Ogden, 2018). Users’ social comparisons constitute a significant aspect that influences people’s perceptions of themselves as inferior to their peers.
As a result, the more time they spend looking through social media feeds like Instagram or Twitter, the more time they compare their social status with others. Those that use social media such as Facebook and Twitter require likes and retweets, and, in the case where they gather less, it lowers their self-esteem (Coulthard & Ogden, 2018). When a person expects favorable feedback from others on their posts but does not receive it, their self-esteem suffers greatly. The study looks at how much time people spend on social networking sites, user comparisons, and how basic feedback loops affect people’s self-esteem.
The mental effects of publishing selfies on Instagram and getting reply has a more significant dimensional effect on young people’s wellbeing. Posting selfies without obtaining feedback has a different impact on a user’s happiness and self-esteem especially when expecting comments (Coulthard & Ogden, 2018). The selfies are replied with feedback in the number of likes, the impact of selfies and feedback leads to complexity. The negative impacts are on appearance satisfaction and favorable effects on face satisfaction, thus lowering self-esteem.
Even though selfies have become a fundamental feature of social media, experimental research on their influence is sparse. The impression of publishing selfies with and lacking feedback related to publication no selfies on several psychological wellbeing aspects is different for every individual (Coulthard, & Ogden, 2018). Posting selfies or receiving criticism does not affect self-esteem and happiness. Regardless of the criticism, those who post selfies and receive positive comments improve their appearance satisfaction compared to those who post pictures and do not get feedback (Coulthard, & Ogden, 2018). Therefore, posting selfies may cause a complex set of changes in how individuals think about themselves. This could be unbiased optimistic, or undesirable, reliant on the flexibility and when it is restrained.
Moreover, social comparison theory is used to study social media platform obsession, self-esteem, and belongingness. Social contrast affects the relationship between self-esteem and belonging and social media addiction of these two dimensions (Kavaklı & Ünal, 2021). Social contrast may play a mediating role in social media platform obsession and self-esteem, social platform obsession, and belongingness. Social media fans may have a diminished feeling of self-worth and belonging. Indicating that there might be a link between social platform addiction, self-esteem, and an overall sense of belonging. For the reason that online societal contexts mimic everyday social processes, being online can have a cognitive influence. These types of situations can inspire people to become more vigilant. This may result in new encounters in their social lives, which may be significant.
Furthermore, social media may meet people’s psychological requirements, as likes and retweets in online social contexts may be viewed as social rewards. A sense of belonging and increased self-esteem is a result of these circumstances and can lead to people utilizing social media to manage their emotions. However, social media can lead to a reduced sense of self-worth and belonging. This causes an undesirable connotation between social media platform obsession self-esteem and overall belonging exists (Kavaklı & Ünal, 2021). Generally, individuals may compare themselves to lower in terms of various characteristics in the descending societal contrast process. Social media’s descendant typical contrast process can aid people to adjust their reactions (Kavaklı, & Ünal, 2021).
Additionally, using standard media regularly exposes someone to upward social comparisons, which hurts their self-esteem. Individuals who have been temporarily exposed and discover targets’ social media profiles with upward comparison information are less confident. On the other hand, those who discover profiles with downward comparison information are more confident (Coulthard & Ogden, 2018). Furthermore, upward social comparisons on Facebook can have both positive and negative consequences for social networking platforms. The social comparison determines a big part of one’s self-concept and self-esteem. Social comparison is used to judge our thoughts, feelings, and actions (Coulthard, & Ogden, 2018). A feeling of comfort about individuals is evident when there is a favorable comparison to others through downward social comparison.
Negative emotions arise when individuals using social media try comparing themselves with those of higher or lower character. The favorable sentiments experienced by members of an influential social group are referred to as social identity. Some of the various identities are most accessible and will change daily depending on the situation faced. Most cases, fitting into a set yields positive sensations since seeing sets, and hereafter, positivity (Coulthard & Ogden, 2018). In addition, philosophy has a significant impact on most perceptions and how people think about and interact with others.
Martinez-Pecino, R., & Garcia-Gavilán, M. (2019). Likes and problematic Instagram use: The moderating role of self-esteem. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 22(6), 412–416. Web.
Mobile devices have aided in the growth of Internet usage, particularly on social networking sites. Instagram has grown in popularity to develop one of the most prevalent social media platforms. Concerns of improper use have arisen as a result of this expansion. Because of their rewarding potential, Likes are one of the essential aspects attracting people’s attention. Likes are seen as a sign of social approbation, especially throughout adolescence. However, there is little study on the link between likes and problematic use. The direct effect of character behaviors like self-esteem on challenging use. By analyzing the effects of likes and self-esteem on Instagram’s challenging practice and the controlling consequence of self-esteem in the association between likes and challenging use.
A total of 244 young people took part in the research. Regression analysis using the Development macro for SPSS establishes the effect of likes on challenging use. The effect of likes increases on challenging practice is smaller in people with advanced self-esteem than in those with little self-esteem, indicating that self-esteem plays a moderating function as a protective factor. The findings pave the way for a future research project to maximize the benefits of social networking while avoiding problematic use among teenagers.
Mann, R. E. B. (2020). The effects of social media use and self-esteem on possible selves throughout adolescence [ProQuest Information & Learning]. In Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences (Vol. 81, Issue 10–A).
The impact of social media channels on self-concepts in the adolescent stage has been a critical research point by most researchers. Since the use of public platforms for distinctiveness, molded behavior such as social comparison has increased understanding of this area. Self-concept is hypothesized as another form of oneself to be sidestepped, affecting behavior, mainly during adolescence. Little research on probable self-ideation and balancing among adolescents in social media has triggered the situation in complex ways. The study fills the gaps by looking at how stage of progress, self-esteem, public media custom, online self-presentation performance, and online social contrast leanings affect teenagers’ ideation of composed conceivable personalities (Bergagna & Tartaglia, 2018). A total of 150 teenagers aged 12-17 took part in the study. The inspiring benefits of these selves were improved when they were stable across realms.
A successive regression examination, which regressed the stability of conceivable selves on each self-regulating feature, yielded no significant findings. The content of frightened selves differed between males and girls, according to a chi-square analysis (Bergagna & Tartaglia, 2018). Females had more fearful selves when it came to interpersonal connections. Even though the worsening perfect did not provide the assumptions, the regularity examination revealed an alteration in realms between feminine and masculine participants, highlighting the necessity for more research. Self-image issues have been linked to offending conduct and low academic achievement in adolescence and can be addressed if identified early.