Commentary: How social media can crush your self-esteem
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Unrealistic comparisons and pandemic stress makes a poor combination for the self-esteem of social media users, says a psychologist. 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(Photo:LuxiYangforTheNewYorkTimes) SabrinaLaplante SabrinaLaplante 02Feb202206:09AM (Updated:03Feb202208:45AM) Bookmark Bookmark Share WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedIn MONTREAL,Canada:Weallhaveanaturaltendencytocompareourselvestoothers,whetherintentionallyornot,onlineoroffline. Suchcomparisonshelpusevaluateourownachievements,skills,personalityandouremotions.This,inturn,influenceshowweseeourselves. Butwhatimpactdothesecomparisonshaveonourwell-being?Itdependsonhowmuchcomparingwedo. Comparingourselvesonsocialmediatopeoplewhoareworseoffthanwearemakesusfeelbetter.Comparingourselvestopeoplewhoaredoingbetterthanus,however,makesusfeelinferiororinadequateinstead. Thesocialmediaplatformwechoosealsoaffectsourmorale,asdocrisissituationsliketheCOVID-19pandemic. AsaPhDstudentinpsychology,Iamstudyingincels- menwhoperceivetherejectionofwomenasthecauseoftheirinvoluntarycelibacy. Ibelievethatsocialcomparison,whichplaysasmucharoleinthesemarginalgroupsasitdoesinthegeneralpopulation,affectsourgeneralwell-beingintheageofsocialmedia. Related: Commentary:Benefitsanddrawbackswhencitizensusesocialmediatoraiseconcerns Commentary:Ourunkindnessonsocialmediaisamirrortosociety ANOPTIMALLEVELOFCOMPARISON Thedegreeofsocialcomparisonthatindividualscarryoutisthoughttoaffectthedegreeofmotivationtheyhave. AccordingtoastudybyresearchersatRuhrUniversityinBochum,Germany,thereisanoptimallevelofperceiveddifferencebetweentheselfandothersthatmaximisestheeffectsofsocialcomparison. Specifically,ifweseeourselvesasvastlysuperiortoothers,wewillnotbemotivatedtoimprovebecausewealreadyfeelthatweareinagoodposition. Yet,ifweperceiveourselvesasveryinferior,wewillnotbemotivatedtoimprovesincethegoalseemstoodifficulttoachieve. Inotherwords,theresearchersnote,beyondorbelowtheoptimallevelofperceiveddifferencebetweenoneselfandanother,apersonnolongermakesanyeffort. Byperceivingoneselfasinferior,theindividualwillexperiencenegativeemotions,guiltandloweredprideandself-esteem. (APPhoto/JennyKane,File) UNREALISTICCOMPARISONSONSOCIALMEDIA Socialcomparisonsthereforehaveconsequencesbothforourbehaviourandforourpsychologicalwell-being. However,comparingyourselftoothersatarestaurantdinnerdoesnotnecessarilyhavethesameeffectascomparingyourselftoothersonFacebook. Itiseasiertoinventanexcitingexistenceorembellishcertainaspectsofthingsonasocialmediaplatformthanitisinreallife. Theadventofsocialmedia,whichallowsustosharecontentwherewealwaysappearinourbestlight,hasledmanyresearcherstoconsiderthepossibilitythatthisamplifiesunrealisticcomparisons. ResearchshowsthatthemoretimepeoplespendonFacebookandInstagram,themoretheycomparethemselvessocially.Thissocialcomparisonislinked,amongotherthings,tolowerself-esteemandhighersocialanxiety. AstudyconductedbyresearchersattheNationalUniversityofSingaporeexplainstheseresultsbythefactthatpeoplegenerallypresentpositiveinformationaboutthemselvesonsocialmedia. Theycanalsoenhancetheirappearancebyusingfilters,whichcreatetheimpressionthatthereisabigdifferencebetweenthemselvesandothers. Inturn,researchersworkingatFacebookobservedthatthemorepeoplelookedatcontentwherepeopleweresharingpositiveaspectsoftheirlivesontheplatform,themorelikelytheyweretocomparethemselvestoothers. Related: Commentary:ChineseofficialshavefilledtheTrumpvacuumonTwitter Commentary:ShouldyoubesharingyourCOVID-19vaccineselfiesonsocialmedia? Commentary:Shadytacticsininfluencercampaignsmakesocialmediathenewfrontierforstubbingoutsmoking COVID-19:LESSNEGATIVESOCIALCOMPARISON However,couldtheeffectofthiscomparisoninaparticularlystressfulcontextliketheCOVID-19pandemicbedifferent? AstudyfromresearchersatKoreUniversityinEnna,Italy,showedthatbeforelockdowns,highlevelsofonlinesocialcomparisonwereassociatedwithgreaterdistress,lonelinessandalesssatisfyinglife.Butthiswasnolongerthecaseduringlockdowns. Onereasonforthiswouldbethatbycomparingthemselvestoothersduringthelockdown,peoplefelttheyweresharingthesamedifficultexperience.Thatreducedthenegativeimpactofsocialcomparisons. So,comparingoneselftoothersonlineduringdifficulttimescanbeapositiveforceforimprovingrelationshipsandsharingfeelingsoffearanduncertainty. ADIFFERENTEFFECTDEPENDINGONTHESOCIALMEDIA Therearedistinctionstobemadedependingonwhichsocialmediaplatformapersonisusing.ResearchersattheUniversityofLorraine,France,considerthatsocialmediaplatformsshouldnotbealllumpedtogether. Forexample,theuseofFacebookandInstagramisassociatedwithlowerwell-being,whileTwitterisassociatedwithmorepositiveemotionsandhigherlifesatisfaction. (APPhoto/JennyKane,File) Onepossibleexplanation:FacebookandInstagramareknowntobeplacesforpositiveself-presentation,unlikeTwitter,whereitismoreappropriatetoshareone’srealopinionsandemotions. TryingtogetsocialsupportonsocialmediaduringtheCOVID-19pandemicmayreactivatenegativeemotionsinsteadofreleasingthem,dependingonwhichsocialmediaplatformapersonisusing. Manythingsmotivateustocompareourselvessocially.Whetherwelikeitornot,socialmediaexposesustomoreofthosemotivations. Dependingonthetypeofcontentthatisbeingshared,whetheritispositiveornegative,wetendtorefertoitwhenweareself-evaluating. Sharingcontentthatmakesusfeelgoodaboutourselvesandgarnerspraisefromothersisnice,butyouhavetoconsidertheeffectofthesepostsonothers. Yetoverall,sharingyourdifficultiesinwords,picturesorvideoscanstillhavepositiveeffectsandbringpsychologicalbenefits. SabrinaLaplanteisa doctoralcandidateinpsychologyatUniversityofQuebecinMontreal(UQAM).ThiscommentaryfirstappearedonTheConversation. Related: Commentary:PostPSLE,whatifa12-year-oldwantsanInstagramorTikTokaccount? Commentary:FacebookfoundInstagramcouldhurtteens’mentalhealth,butisitdoingenoughtoaddressit? Commentary:Instagramhastoomanyinfluencersandpeoplearegettingbored Source:CNA/ep RelatedTopics socialmedia mentalhealth Influencer Wellbeing Advertisement Alsoworthreading Contentisloading... Advertisement Expandtoreadthefullstory Thisbrowserisnolongersupported Weknowit'sahassletoswitchbrowsersbutwewantyourexperiencewithCNAtobefast,secureandthebestitcanpossiblybe. Tocontinue,upgradetoasupportedbrowseror,forthefinestexperience,downloadthemobileapp. Upgradedbutstillhavingissues?Contactus
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