The Rise of Social Media and Fall of Self Love
Today, social media is all around us. It has been for quite some time. The only difference is that now there is a rise in problems that stem from the use (some may say overuse) of social media platforms. While many people praise social media for its positive attributes such as creating an easier way to communicate and being a place where people can express themselves, there are also negative attributes that need to be addressed. One of the most detrimental issues of social media is the concept of online harassment where people are able to sit behind screens and anonymously criticize other people to a point of self hate. The concept of online harassment has become so prevalent over time that it has evolved into an entirely new type of bullying, called cyberbullying.
Just like with any other form of bullying cyberbullying leads to a decline of the mental health of the victim of said actions. The biggest issue with this is that online anyone can remain anonymous if they wish. This means it is much harder to track down people that are misusing social media and attacking others online when the traditional bullying that many people think of, this anonymity does not exist as a shield to the bully. Not only does cyberbullying lead to the decline of social media user’s mental health, so do other things such as the comparisons between yourself and others that social media perpetuates.
While you may see photos online of one of your friends glamorous and relaxing vacation, you may ask yourself, why am I not on a vacation right now? Why is their life so much better than mine? In the TED Talk by Bailey Parnell she discusses in depth how what we see online from our peers are simply their ‘highlight reels’ that accentuate the best parts of their life which we then compare to our ‘behind the scenes’ which can include the less glamorous things that we normally do not post about such as hectic days at work, setbacks throughout life, or even tragedies that we experience. This constant comparison acts as a put down to yourself when you see others thriving and you may possibly not be in the most relaxed or glamorous time of your life.
Another aspect of technology and specifically social media eating away at our self love is the fact that we spend so much time consumed in social media focusing on what others are doing, and not near enough time on self reflection or nourishing our mind, body and soul. In a TED Talk by Adam Alter he talks about the amount of time that we spend on screens and how this time can easily affect our moods. For example he talks about the fact that people that were surveyed were generally happier when using apps that related to things like relaxation and health whereas things like social media made people unhappy. With effects like these it is quite difficult to understand why anyone would want to use social media, but the fact is that it has become so heavily engrained in our society that if we abstain from using it we feel as though we are missing out on something spectacular. This fear of missing out leads to the usage of social media and in turn to the negative effects that it has on individuals mental health and capabilities to love theirselves.
