Screens and Self Esteem
Social media has done many great things for our society with things like connectivity, self-expression, and community-building features. This has allowed us as humans to be more engaged with one another and make communicating and sharing our lives easier than ever. This has had it’s benefits for society and the people on the platforms, but it has also caused a lot of longstanding issues for it’s users, who have been on the platforms most of their lives. Things like cyberbullying and negative self image have been serious consequences of the social media revolution that we have lived through.
Cyberbullying has been around since the formation of social media, but it has developed in several ways over the years. While initially it was usually people anonymously posting rumors or mean posts about people on MySpace or through their AOL emails, it has now developed into people commenting on other people's posts with passive aggressive or rude comments and sometimes sending the posts in group chats to talk about those people behind their backs. No matter the form, cyberbullying has been a blemish on the face of social media that impacts people very deeply in a way they often don’t forget.
Another noticeable flaw in the design of social media is the glorification of “beauty influencers” and celebrities like Kim Kardashian. These influencers have become famous for their looks, and it causes young people in middle school, high school, and up to look at themselves in a negative light and feel bad about how they look. In numerous cases, people have developed eating disorders and body dysmorphia since they are unhappy with how they look when they compare themselves to these beauty influencers, and this can be very damaging to them mentally. It’s hard to think of ways that this could be reversed or changed simply based on the beauty standards held in society and the notoriety received by so many celebrities nowadays for being good looking. Either way, the best thing any of us can do is support one another and treat everyone with kindness for a safer internet and society for the coming generations.
