Social Media and Self Esteem

Key Points:

The façade of perfection:

• The Facade of Perfection

• People portray themselves as having flawless lives, big homes, big birthday celebrations, perfect Christmas decorations, etc. These posts offer a glimpse of what people’s lives are actually like.

The impact on Mental Health:

• The Impact on Mental Health

• Constant Exposure to people’s seemingly perfect lives on social media can create the stress of feeling like individuals have to measure up. I.e., beauty standards also. From tik tok to instagram. 

• We can compare ourselves.

• I.e., Dove Beauty created a campaign in relation to unrealistic social media standards in response to unrealistic beauty standards, how that impacts confidence, etc. Seeing different body types, etc.

Unrealistic Expectations and the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO):

• The constant stream of content leads to unrealistic expectations about what makes a fulfilling life. People find themselves comparing what might appear to be unattainable standards set by others.

• FOMO increases when individuals scroll through carefully curated posts, and it appears that others are leading more fulfilling lives than they are.