Negative self-image due to social media?

In fact, social media is here to stay. It is 1 of the most common ways to connect and talk. It is also very useful for networking, meetings and other social occasions. Yet it also has many disadvantages. Sure, you can chat or Skype with people all over the world. You can see each other's video and you can comment on it. It also has negative consequences...

Negative self-image due to Social Media

With things like Facebook and Twitter now widely used by almost all people and also young people, you can do many things with that. You can share your status, get more followers and everyone can like or not like.

In particular, teenage girls often struggle with poor and negative self-image as a result. They are also often insecure about how they look. This is because teenagers in particular are on Facebook a lot where they talk to peers. And most discussions on Facebook are then about how they look and the appearance of others.

This is the conclusion of Australian researchers who conducted interviews with more than 1,000 female college students. Also according to scientists at Flinders University, teenagers in particular have a harder time being online on Facebook than their peers who are more likely to be offline or use Facebook and Twitter almost never.

The discussions held on Facebook among teenage girls are almost always about looks. But even when positive things are said about each other's appearance, it still has a negative impact on teens' self-esteem. This is because it puts too much emphasis on how someone looks.

What other negative consequences.

The negative impact of social media is not limited to just negative self-image. Teens who use social media are generally more insecure about themselves than teens who do other things.

In addition, it increases the risk of depression. Teenagers and especially teenage girls have an increased risk of depression than girls who are less likely to be on Facebook.

A lot of young people and especially the slightly older teenage girls are on Facebook en masse. So this is bad news because there is a chance that these teenagers are struggling with or may develop insecurity and depression.

What can you do about it?

Fortunately, you can do something about this. Some tips include:

• Get a regular time on Facebook and/or Twitter
• Don't spend more than 30 minutes a day on social media (is already a long time!)
• Visit friends and girlfriends more often and do fun things

If things really go too far and you are addicted to Facebook or you have such low self-esteem that it causes problems, make an appointment with our institute. It is not worth sticking around with this.