Social Media and Self-Esteem (Thanks, Reddit)
I woke up yesterday and checked my emails. Since I recently created a new account on Reddit, I have had a few emails trying to hook me back onto the platform.
Well, it worked... This post from r/psychology, a subreddit I subscribe to, headlined one of my daily digest emails:
One-week social media break boosts young women's self-esteem and body image
byu/chrisdh79 inpsychology
The relationship between social media and self-image has been on my mind these past few weeks.
The article in the post describes a study concluding that young women who do not use social media have higher self-esteem and a more positive view of their body image than those who use social media frequently.
The discussion on Reddit was engaging. Many redditors (is that what we call people on Reddit?) agree that social media and AI are major contributing factors to the issue, while others think humans need to have the self-control and discipline to censor what they see and how they use comparisons.
I've definitely fallen down the hole of comparing myself to those I see online (many who I do not know personally), and it never ends up a positive experience.
In person, I'm generally pretty confident, but I rarely feel confident enough to post a photo of myself or write about something I'm interested or knowledgeable in.
What are some ways you create a positive space on social media? How do we support children and adolescents that use social media?
Check out the post, and maybe join the conversation!
This is something I've thought a lot about as well. As for me, to create a positive space for myself on social media, I avoid all things even remotely political online. If something political crops up as a suggested post, I get rid of it. I unfollow people who are too negative or divisive. And,to actively promote positivity in my feeds, I follow accounts that post content that makes me happy. For me, that's lots of pet pages and some accounts that post a lot of growth mindset messaging.
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