Social Media can have a positive or negative impact on teens but you can’t deny the effect of Social Media on teen’s self-esteem. In this era, teenagers are always on online and digital screens. Most of them use social media like Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Vine, and many more.
They enjoy sharing pictures, videos, thoughts, memes, and updating their status. What they are doing, their location, travel status, and even their relationship.
Teens tend to lose track of time when they are on their phones and have social media addiction. They feel the need to check their phone right away if there is any new notification.
If teenagers did not scroll their social media news feeds, they feel like they are missing something important. If they don’t check their phone for a while, even the phone did not vibrate; they feel it is vibrating.
The most significant worry about social networking sites is that. “How much attention youngsters are giving towards it?” and “How much it affects youngster’s self-esteem?”
As they are giving more importance to them. Like how many numbers of likes, followers, and friends they got. They compare it with other fellows too. That leads them to disappointment.
Teens are also focusing on: what others are wearing? Where are they traveling? What adventure are they doing? And what are they eating and where?
It leads to insufficiency in some. Giving surge to negative feelings of jealousy and spite.
Why Is It Important To Have Positive Self-Esteem?
For teenagers, positive and high self-esteem is essential. To involve them in exploring the world, new things. To develop the habit of taking healthy risks and solving their daily life problems.
It promotes productive learning and development for bright careers and futures. Teenagers are having positive self-esteem. Are more likely to prove positive and fresh social/interactive appearances like:
- Exploring new challenges and trying them to achieve something in their life.
- Involvement in social activities and helping needy peoples.
- Are independent and act mature.
- Captivating self-importance in their successes/activities.
- Are responsible and patient while dealing with defeat.
How Social Media Lower the Self-Esteem of Teenagers?
Teenagers spend a lot of time on their smartphones and social media. It can create a toxic cycle and can lead to a very poor self-image and a bit of self-hated.
Teenagers are being captivated by social media. Every teen has an interest in social media. For them, it’s cool, exciting, and entertaining. They are busy posting, stories, and many more. Social media lower the Self-Esteem of teenagers by:
Quest For the Likes Lower the Self-Esteem:
Involving social media for first-time impress teens. Every new friend you add on their social media handles. And keep them engagement in all your social media handles if they did not get the number of friends to request or followers in your social media handles. It’s disappointing for them.
Scrolling and viewing through images with perfection. Liking, reacting, and sharing those images and posts influences them.
It’s normal to want such perfect lifestyles. However, breathing up to the polished life standard is impossible. Hence, social media messes with the brain and leads to disappointment.
Cyberbullying Destroys Self-Esteem:
Sometimes teens may post embarrassing images and videos of their class fellows and friends on social media as social media handles are open for all the people around the world. This leads to harassment and cyberbullying.
It is worst for the victim to delete what is shared online. Once it is uploaded, it can’t be erased; it causes teens to feel lonely, lost, and even get suicidal thoughts this can result due to bullying on the social media. So, being bullied online os another negative impact of social media.
Social Anxiety Disorder (aka Social Phobia):
Well, do your teen feel like they are spying on by someone? Do they feel their whole environment is surrounded by hidden cameras?
The feeling of extreme insecurity, anxious and self-consciousness in a social situation. It is identified as a social anxiety disorder. This type of anxiety disorder causes teenagers to be disturbing and fearful. Due to these, teens are not able to handle the stress that comes with every day in their social activities.
Reports state that “The teen led to increased feelings of depression, anxiety, self-image, and loneliness by excessive use of social media”.
Teenagers are enticing to the social media world, so they are missing the real and green world outside the screens. So, they lack the positive vibes we gain from nature.
Signs of Poor Self-Esteem
You need to know how your kids feel about themselves. Having high self-esteem in childhood helps kids in the future.
Teenagers with poor self-esteem are expected to have negative vibes for themselves. They feel useless and unwanted. To know what your kids feel about themselves, here are some signs teens with self-esteem portrait:
- They are more likely to avoid challenges and opportunities.
- Create a reason to blame others for their mistakes.
- Lack of motivation
- Not taking interest
- Feel unwanted, useless, and hatred.
- Can’t take feedback
- Afraid of embarrassment and failure.
- Are more Introvert
- Obsessed with others.
- Stressed and depressed.
- Not capable of dealing with frustration and normal problems.
Tips for Gaining Positive Self-Esteem
Teen with high self-esteem experience positive energy on them. They are not afraid to make decisions, do their best for success. If they don’t have adequate self-esteem, they will end up with a pessimistic personality. They may experience issues with socialization and achieving ambitions.
You should help your kids to gain positive self-esteem from a very young age. Here are some tips for gaining positive self-esteem:
Clear Out the Negative Thoughts
Most teenagers suffer from depressive thoughts and are traped in discouraging statements such as “I can’t do this”. “They will not appreciate my work”. “They won’t like it”. These types of inner voices command them negative thoughts and reduce their self-esteem.
To clear out negative thoughts, they should believe in themselves. They have to encourage themselves to say, “I can do this”. All their thoughts and activities, from waking up to going to bed, should be positive and deliver positivity.
Teens need to approach failures, and fixing them helps to boost self-esteem. They should build helping nature to support others. It is important to maintain a healthy image and a mental capacity to improve self-esteem.
Delete Social Media App From Your Phone For a Week
To cut off the use of social media for teenagers is very tough. Teens can’t resist the use of social media handles they have on their phones. Even they know it has got a negative effect on their life, they enjoy using it. Sometimes kids are mistreated in chatting applications like WhatsApp.
Instead of asking them to limit their social media usage, you can encourage them to take a break from the social media world and engage with people in the real world. Hence, it was better to delete the social media app from your teens’ phones for a week.
Realize a Perfect Image Does Not Make You Happy
Need to know getting likes on images is not an actual success; it’s a short-term satisfaction. Once you grow up, you realize how childish you were.
Happiness is about mentality, and having a positive mentality and positive vibes makes your happy life. Happiness does not rely on how perfect your image and the number of likes and comments on social media.
The polished and show-off lifestyles you have on social media are no way to be happy. Happiness lies in inner peace. So, make your teen realize that no one perfect as they seem on social media and encourage them for self-acceptance. Make your kids realize that self-acceptance will make them happy more than anything else.
Unfollow The People Who Lower Their Self-Esteem
Some people’s posts, messages, and comments may affect teenagers. For example, your teens are following friends who show off too much on social media. Wearing branded clothes and living a lavish lifestyle make your kids want to have the same life.
Following these types of people may develop negative thoughts on your teens. They develop a sense of incomplete, poor, and boring life of them. That leads to lower self-esteem and develop self-hatred feelings. Hence, it is better to encourage your kids to unfollow them and live their life as it is.
Screen Time Limits
Almost every social media app has updated and added the new features of screen time limit mode. This feature helps to set the screen limit of the social media handle. It reduces your excessive screen time. If there is not this feature in the app, then you can install the digital wellbeing apps.
Digital wellbeing apps are for the concern towards your health which is capable of making use of digital technologies. To look after the individual’s health, safety, relationships, and work-life balance by using digital settings. Installing and using this type of apps are fruitful for teens.
The lower the use and interest in social media handle, the lower its effect on their mental health and self-esteem.
Change notification settings
Change the notification setting of your social media handles. Turn off the notification like:
- Notification of people (you are obsessed with) posting photos
- Notification of messages of people you don’t like.
- Notifications of mentions and stories.
This setting on your social media handles helps to reduce your addiction. It also promotes positive self-esteem.
The teenager’s self-esteem may develop. It can change over time by motivation and a positive environment. Encouragement and inspiration are two things that are essential for the development of a teenager’s self-esteem.
