Social Media Influence on Self-Image and Mental Health

 Social Media Influence on Self-image and Mental Health

            In today’s digital world, it’s not uncommon for people to act differently from how they actually are in real life. Have you ever stopped and noticed how different your friend is online and in real life? A friend of mine, let’s call her CJ, is one of the best examples I can give you on the topic of having a severe case of “social media personality”.

CJ would often post videos or photos, showing off her luxurious and extravagant life for the world to see. The thing is – it’s all fake. The truth is, CJ doesn’t possess the fancy life that she claims to have online and would often pose for the camera in front of things she never actually owns!

            With that being said, I must say that I feel very sorry for her. Never in my life would I have ever imagined CJ developing some sort of “online personality” in the 5 years that I have known her for; and it really made me think – how crazy social media is when it comes to impacting one’s personality and mental state.

            With 86.1% (or 5.17 billion) of the world's population active on social media, there is no doubt that social media has become the epitome of the new society; and just like the real society, it has influenced its users in an unseen way. For instance, the case of my friend CJ and how much she cared about her image in the digital world.

            PubMed Central conducted a study to identify the correlation between frequent exposure to social media and one’s mental health: the study concluded that 48.3% of the participants were found to have depression, 22.6% suffered from anxiety, and 19.4% had both. This highlights that most people who are often exposed to social media are more likely to suffer from mental health problems.

            Now, how is something that seems so innocent could’ve done such a thing to an individual’s mind? In this digital era, more and more people are more vulnerable to peer pressure due to FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), people pleasing personality and fear of being disliked; and considering how there are 5.17 billion people spread out around the globe with access to the social media with free will on what to say and display, expecting impossible standards and kicking down those who failed to do so.

People, especially people pleasers, would be the most affected in this cruel, new digital society. Trying to please everyone online, even if it means doing things they don’t necessarily agree with or like! It could range from something simple, such as ordering coffee even though you enjoy tea more, or even something bigger, like doing plastic surgery just to fit in the media’s beauty standard! What’s even worse is, not only are some destroying their body, but they are also destroying their psychological health as well.

            Scary, isn’t it? How some or even the majority of social media users could be easily manipulated by the online society to do things just to fit in and to be “accepted”. The only thing we can do to prevent it is, well, to deal with it. The harsh truth is, we won’t be able to control what people on the platform say or do, nor would anyone have the power to identify all of these individuals and prosecute them fairly, so the next best thing to do is just to learn how to deal with it.

By Gracelycia Angeline Serat

1st December 2024