The Dooming Effects of Social Media on Our Self-Esteem and Our Growing Ache for Materialism
It is genuinely human to exchange ideas, finding inspiration and learning new things to connecting with people. While we are great at finding ways to deal with each other, like social media; we are not equipped for the consequences on our development and the effects of social media on ourselves.
Social Media does not only that, it also increases our self-esteem through online likes and positive feedback.
But social media also has a downside. It is so enjoyable that it easily, and without us even realizing it, starts to consume us our focus, time and emotional energy.
It is also an emotional dumping ground, making us feel dreadful and delighted of others experiences and ideas. Often time it makes us jealous of a pal’s vacation, car, or job prospect; desperate and annoyed about the state of the world or even depressed about ourselves.
To get the most value out of social media we must use it with wisdom and understand that it can strengthen our emotional side.
Social media platforms are easy and fun to use as they are designed for maximum attraction.
Social Media consumes our time and conscious attention as much as possible.
It sort of gives us a dopamine hit now and then. For instance, if someone likes and commented on your photo or post on Facebook, it gets you to contribute more content and that also gets you more likes and comments. (People love likes on their posts or photos)
This strategy of little dopamine dailies can surely contribute to an addiction. The effects of social media take drastic turns when you incorporate addiction to each of these elements; addiction on it’s own is not the issue sadly.
A recent discovery by the World Health Organization also recognized Gaming Disorder as a mental health condition.
Self-esteem is surely a part of addiction, but the bond is not at all times upfront. Just like drug addiction is related to low self-esteem, and people addicted to gambling initially have high self-esteem. Social media can also raise self-esteem especially when people like posts or leave blushing comments.
Isolation
Social media is isolating. Instead of being together with friends, spending time talking on the phone or going to parties we spend time on our devices. Depriving our self some significant elements of healthy relationships; eye contact and physical touch and whether we like it or not this has a huge negative impact on our self-esteem.
It’s important for children to stay off social media for long periods of time when their immediate livelihoods are changing or at stake. While social media does increase the community at hand to communicate, it is a terrible partner to get used to as a medium for the outside world. Instead of real world experiences many experience online experiences, where every second is dominated by what is on screen and to keep utilizing the platform.(And we just talked about addiction; lets steer clear of that)
The fear of missing out, as well as loneliness, anxiety, depression, and narcissism are all connected to social media use..
Warned against by every foremost religion, envy is one of the seven most deadly sins. Even though it has become distasteful, social media brings it out in the most unexpected ways and with astounding forte.
We live in the age of envy where people envy everything you possess, be it in the form of material possessions, endeavors, or prospects.
Using social media gives exceptional and good enough reasons to be envious. It exposed us to an extensive piece of our upper class, highlighting their lives over and over again.
To a certain extent, we are all consumed by envy and it leads to mental and health problems such as infections, cardiovascular diseases, depression, anxiety, and insomnia.
Low self-esteem seems to be the root of envy. Consequently, self-esteem is the key to self-improvement.
To sum it up, I can say….
While social media use seems like a very delicate choice, it has some great influence on our well-being. Social media is a whole different world, an online version, that keeps you occupied as long as possible.
While congress says they intend to reduce time on social media, it is up to the individual to utilize social media where it bolsters your lifestyle not impeding it. There are many pitfalls with social media, among which are human interaction and different forms of communicating; there are however some benefits to staying connected while you are online or mobile and we appreciate it’s existence.