Five ways social media weaken self-esteem

Studies show that two-thirds of people find it hard to relax or even sleep after spending time on social media. Why do you let yourself feel stressed, anxious or have negative thoughts after using social media? Why let social media affect your self-worth? Perhaps, it’s time for a self-evaluation and possibly a social media break? Here are five ways you let social media weaken your self-esteem.

• Your real world thoughts and interactions are influenced by social media

Thinking about social media first thing in the morning and last thing before you go to bed is not healthy. You’re allowing yourself to develop a dependence for it that can work against you in the not-too-distant future. If you can’t find a clear distinction or draw a fine line between your real world life and social media life, you are letting social media gradually erode your self-esteem.

• Your thoughts and feeling about yourself are influenced by social media

The moment you become aware of the fact that your feelings, thoughts and perceptions of yourself are being affected by social media, it is time for a break, whether a brief break or an indefinite break. Social media are not real life, you must never forget that. Getting likes should not be a means of self-validation, also never forget this. On social media, you see only what people want you to see; you hardly see a completely true picture of their lives. It is unwise to base anything, especially something as serious as thoughts and perceptions about yourself, on a phenomenon as fleeting and facetious as social media.

• You can’t spend time alone without social media

Surely you should be able to spend time by yourself or engage in one or two activities without a visit to a social media platform. If you find face-to-face communications difficult, social media aren’t helping matters. You need to be strong and come out of your shell to have actual, tangible and real world relationships you can be proud of. Besides, most social media relationships are typically shallow and not as emotionally gratifying as real world relationships.

• The need to share everything on social media

If this is you, please stop. A better alternative is to develop real world relationships with people you can share your issues with, rather than airing your dirty laundry before the world. Speaking to an understanding person or even to a psychologist or church counsellor will serve you better than social media. Don’t open yourself up to trolls and bullies that will derive pleasure in mocking your pain.

• You begin to measure your success by others

If all of a sudden, after joining one or two social media platforms, measuring your success and accomplishments by others is all you seem to do, that’s a warning sign. Social media success doesn’t mean real life success. Even if it does mean real life success, it’s wrong for you to make it a standard you have to live up to when you know nothing about the said person’s success backstory. You don’t know details of the person’s dealings and undertakings to achieve that success, so why on earth should you try to copy it or measure your success by it? Focus on your journey and be the best you can be, take a break from social media if you need to.