Self-Image Through Social Media
Have you ever wanted to post short videos or pictures of your day? Or send funny faces to your friends? Now you can with the help of the application Snapchat. This application is the newest trend that everyone wants to try. Snapchat is easy to use and you can stay connected with just a tap. Snapchat has given people more ways to express themselves, but it comes at a high price. The application creates an illusion that we can live a perfect life when in reality that is not true. Sherry Turkle in her article “Flight of conversation” explains how people are alone together: even though we have plenty of people around to talk to us we still feel detached. The upside to using Snapchat is that we can see what our friends are up to from time to time. Although Snapchat allows us to stay connected with our friends,
…show more content…
it ultimately decreases our self-esteem, which ruins our relationships with others. Snapchat is a quick program that was released in 2012 and it allows you to take a pictures or videos and post it to your story. The pictures and videos can be between one to ten-seconds long and they only last on your story for 24 hours before they self-destruct. Snapchat also has filters such as funny faces, filters to change the color of your picture or video, and background effects. There are also geofilters which is where you can communicate in a unique way of where you are. The geofilters are based on your location and you can add them to your pictures and videos. On the app you can view your friend’s stories and sometimes see their memories. The memory feature is when you can post things form your personal camera onto the application. Also on Snapchat you can view different news outlets that have the latest events going on in the world as well as the latest pop culture new, such as CNN, Wall Street Journal, People Magazine, Daily Mail, National Geographic channel, and many more. It is overall a fun and easy way to check in with friends as well as. Today, teens and young adults will post just about anything, from their relationship status to their feelings they experienced that day. Snapchat has turned into a platform that makes us feel like we have to put everything out and let people know how we are doing every second of the day. Most post’s revolve around views of a person’s life, usually positive so that they are able to hide behind their reality. We want our lives to look better on the internet because there is an unceasing pressure to have a perfect life which in return lowers our self-esteem and confidence. There is also the fact that we purposely choose what goes online and what doesn't and that makes it easier for us to hide as well. For example, I have taken a Snapchats of myself doing adventurous activities such as hiking early to get a perfect picture of the sunrise or even posting at a certain time so that I can get more likes. Like Turkle mentioned we are alone together. Her statement in relation to Snapchat means that even though we are together on this application we are also battling with our friends. I have taken Snapchats before where I have gone to cool cities or places and paraded what I did there so that I get more attention. We want our audience on Snapchat to envy us which leads to involuntary competition of who has the coolest snap or video. However, some may feel that Snapchat boosts their social lives.
The appreciation that they receive form others has made them more confident. In the article “Why Your Kids Love Snapchat, and Why You Should Let Them” by Rachel Simmons, it states that there is very little audience participation. In particular, there is no “like” or “heart’’ button which means that there is no way for others judge and measure our value. There was also a study that was conducted about how Snapchat may have a correlation with self-esteem. This experiment was conducted by a biological social linguistic psychologist Fem I. Nine at the University of Pennsylvania. Nine found that there were strong connections between the application Snapchat and teens self-esteem. They had over three hundred participants from middle schools, high schools, and colleges. One particular participate went into a deeper response and said, “I really feel like each one is a piece of art…that lasts for 6 seconds.” This statement implies that teens feel good about themselves when they post on Snapchat because they have taken the time to perfect the picture that they are going to
post. But studies have shown that Snapchat and its filters for the most part actually lower our self-esteem. They have found that there is a correlation between filter manipulation and self-hatred. Before, Snapchat only allowed you to take just pictures and videos there were no filters and geofilters until later on in 2013.Now, with teens having access to an array of filters that alter how we look, they then start to wish that they looked the way a filter portrays them. For example, there is a filter that slims your face and makes it look like you have perfect skin. I have fallen into the trap of thinking that I need to alter myself when I take pictures on snapchat. Sometimes I have spent up to 20 minutes just trying to take the perfect picture that makes me look good, when I don’t get that picture I give up and I am left feeling down. In the article” The Unexpected Reason Snapchat’s ‘Pretty’ Filters Hurt Your Self-Esteem” the author Emily Arata states that, “Snapchat wants to flatter and persuade you to keep using it, but has no obligation to tell you the truth or take responsibility”: the filters that are on the application make you believe that you need to fix your impurities. Therefore, the view of yourself declines due to your logic being altered. There is a certain pressure in our society to be socially accepted. Often it can be too much to handle but teens and young adults continue to push themselves for the validation they continuously seek, we are constantly encouraged by checking and posting everything that goes on in our daily life. Also we are unconsciously encouraged to read and respond to others posts. There has been an increasing rise with internet and validation culture which is making social media the new form of validation. In the article “Why Seeking Validation from Others Will Only Harm Your Self-Worth” by the author Kevin Tuazon states, “We all want to be liked, but changing who you are just to be liked means you're not actually liked for who you are”: Americans have a mindset that if we are not liked in person, we need to alter who we are so that people will find us desirable. In doing this it creates a decrease in our self-image. More and more we assume less of others and anticipate an increasing amount of comfort from technology. We turn to technology because it lets us imagine a life of what ifs as well as create our own illusions. According to Turkle “Always-on/always-on-you devices provide three powerful fantasies: that we will always be heard; that we can put our attention wherever we want it to be; and that we never have to be alone “(51): this demonstrates how we lure ourselves into thinking that we need to find conformation in social media. On the other hand, there have been times where Snapchat can reaffirm people’s validation of themselves. For example, on Snapchat there is a user by the name of DJ Khaled who is world renowned. He posts affirmations on a daily basis to his millions of followers that encourage and prod the viewers to do positive actions in their lives. He will say things like” You have the key to more success, they do not want us to succeed, another one, or bless up”, which mean keep pushing yourself to do better or don’t let others negativity bring you down but give you more motivation. By him saying this he is giving people hope that they too, can be a success like him. People are also exposed to the positive side of Snapchat. Turkle brings up the point of how human relationships are important. Face to face interactions are important because they build understanding, trust, and you have the chance to really get to know someone. When we don't have those real life interactions we tend to find a way to seek them in social media, this leads us to seek validation from others. We post so others can affirm our existence and because we want others to feel jealous of what we are doing. There is also the factor that teens and young adults are trying to portray their best selves to their audience on Snapchat. We wait and check often for when people view our snaps and how many views we received. If we don't get the desirable amount of views, we ask ourselves what didn't I do right and how can I get more views? People equal the number of views to self-worth so what they also ask themselves is “Why don’t they like me” and “How can I receive more friends?” In the article “What it Means Today to be ‘Connected'” by Lucy Marcus, the main claim is that when you have real authenticity and depth with your relationships, that is when you are actually connected. This also means that although numbers and followers give us satisfaction, we cannot tell if someone is being authentic and genuine when we are constantly on a media platform. She too like Turkle agrees that we need to have regular based human interactions. Although social media has opened up a whole new world of communicating, it has left many people feeling more empty and lonely than ever before. Now, those who use this application on a daily basis may have issues with where their validation comes from and also difficulties with our self-esteem and worth. Many are losing sight of what is real and what is not. It is also difficult to not get caught in the mix of losing your self-worth. Ultimately Snapchat has the power to lower teens and young adult’s self-esteem as well as damage the quality of their human interactions.
“Nothing is perfect.” Though social media brings us uncountable convenience, there is a trade-off with the convenience. Due to the advanced technology we have, social media has become part of our life, which it means that social media could determine our sociability. In Peggy Orenstein’s “I Tweet, Therefore I Am,” though she praises Tweeter for its convenience, at the same time, she also worries that “(Tweeter) makes the greasepaint permanent, blurring the lines not only between public and private but also between the authentic and contrived self.” Since we don’t care about who we talk to, we might act abnormally due to our feelings, and
I feel as though more and more teens of this generation are using social media in order to seek approval of attention of others. Since they are expected to use social media in a way to create an online audience, they post pictures of themselves and activities so that they can get a “yes” or “no” response from their audience. If someone posts a picture online and someone who is considered a “friend” makes a positive comment on the photo, then they have received approval of their actions. If someone makes a negative remark on the photo, then they have received disapproval. She uses various examples of how young adults use social media to create a persona of themselves, such as when girls post sexualized pictures of themselves and create avatars of themselves (Orenstein, 448). This means that how they are seen online will affect how they act in real life. When Orenstein says that “the self, becomes a brand”, she means that young adults have to act in a way that is perceived to be socially acceptable by their peers, and the image of how everyone sees you. So many people today use social media, and the biggest one that is being used is Facebook. Profile pictures, albums, and statuses are things that gets posted up for anyone to comment, like, or dislike. Your “friends” on
People have the fundamental desire to maintain strong connections with others. Through logic and reasoning, Sherry states, “But what do we have, now that we have what we say we want, now that we have what technology makes easy?”(Turkle). Face to face conversations are now mundane because of the accessibility to interact at our fingertips, at free will through text, phone calls and social media. Belonging, the very essence of a relationship has now become trivial.
In the New York Times article “My Selfie, Myself,” Jenna Wortham explains that the selfie is a more effective expression of feeling than text alone. Social media is a big factor with selfies, without it there would be no way of sending others your selfie. Selfies are what helps a person look at how people see them. It lets others know how that person is feeling and what they're experiencing. In addition, Selfies make us recognizable about a specific method of self-expression and communication that is particular in time in the sense that it could materialize only in the moment when various technologies have reached a level of accessibility and development.
Technology has advanced a lot and has been greatly impacting our lives since the Industrial Revolution. The appearance of the mobile phone, the computer, and the tablets have all changed our ability to communicate with people around the world. Although technologies have greatly improved our lifestyle, they have brought many negative effects on our relationships and happiness as well, for instance distorting people's views on one another and bringing more loneliness to people's lives. Many people believe that benefited by social media platforms such as Facebook, it is now not necessary to talk to someone in person in order to effectively communicate with one and know one’s life. Others, however, believe that technology alone cannot replace
Turkle discovered, “You can put your attention wherever you want to be,” is something college students believe in.(Turkle) Being able to observe this as a mother gives a sense of sadness. Instead of young adults enjoying their time together and hanging out, they can be seen engrossed with their phones while being together in the same room. A new sense of togetherness has also emerged, where people do not need to be near their friends to be hanging out. College students can live vicariously through their friends’ Snapchat stories and texting is the best way to communicate with each
Social interaction has changed through generations. There was a time where if you wanted to contact someone, you had to mount your horse and sometimes ride hundreds of miles. Then came the invention of the postal service, delivering messages in a more efficient way, but sometimes taking weeks to arrive to the recipient. Later came the telegraph, and eventually the landline telephone. As distant communication has been on the rise, people have been having an increasing reliance on social interaction. The smartphone made this a horrifying reality. Since the invention of the smartphone, we feel inclined to constantly be in touch with someone or something. The connection feeds our hunger for attention. In Gabby Bess’ collection, Alone With Other
Self- Efficacy as defined in "Teens’ Social Media Use and Collective Action”, is one’s ability to succeed in specific situations or accomplish a task. Self-Efficacy plays a role in how one approaches goals, tasks, and challenges (ix). Collective self-esteem, is “an individual’s self-concept derived from his/her ‘knowledge of membership’ in a social group together with the value and emotional significance attached to that membership” (Seo et al. 885). Self-Esteem is an important psychological human need. These are internal factors that affect how people view their external factors, and can affect how people modify their personal behaviors (Nio,
Self-esteem and Social Media Social media has taken over the world of communication and has changed the ways in which we communicate on a daily basis. It is extremely influential in our lives because of how easily we are able to access these mediums of communication. I’m intrigued by the effects that social media has on people’s perceptions of their self-worth. Almost all of the social networking sites seem to measure, at least to some extent, the popularity level or status of its users.
The ultimate question that comes to the mind of mjourity of youth is WHATS the point when it comes to being able to express your self in real lifewbecause they have already depicted them selkves as the ideal person they want to be and think very highly oifi them selevs. Hence, social media acts as a fuel to the ego of young people where they ideally think it is okay tik show them sleves as perfect online instead of real life. Young people adapt to the speech used in various forms of social media
This study examines social media among college students and how it affects self-concept and communication with peers. It explains the importance of the effects social media has on personal communication and self-esteem. It emphasizes that social media offer straightforward ways to communicate with peers and get immediate peer feedback, which might influence young adult’s self-esteem. This article connects the idea self to the overarching theme of relationships.
There is no secret that a modern day teenager’s life is built around the usage of technology. As a result of society’s heavy reliance on technology, social media has become popular amongst people who are “technologically advanced.” Though there is a wide variety of social sites that can be accessed through modern day technology, a few have become very popular. Social sites which have become widely popular among teens include Instagram, Tumblr, and Snapchat. These social networking sites provide instant social connection and emotional support while letting teens post and send pictures of their everyday life. Many teens look towards social media for emotional support and social acceptance. The continual usage of these sites are negatively impacting the self- esteem of teenagers worldwide since they heavily rely on social medias to portray images of what they believe is acceptable for the society we live in.
In the article “The Flight from Conversation” which describes the effects of technology on human interactions, Sherry Turkle argues, “WE live in a technological universe in which we are always communicating. And yet we have sacrificed conversation for mere connection”. Many others would agree with Turkle; technology and its advances through new devices and social media takes away face-to-face conversation. Her idea of being “alone together” in this world is evidently true as many people can connect with one another through technology, altering relationships to adjust to their own lives. Despite Turkle’s opposition, I believe that technology makes our lives easier to manage. There are numerous forms of social media platforms and handheld devices
Self- Efficacy as defined in "Teens’ Social Media Use and Collective Action”, is one’s ability to succeed in specific situations or accomplish a task. Self-Efficacy plays a role in how one approaches goals, tasks, and challenges (ix). Collective self-esteem, is “an individual’s self-concept derived from his/her ‘knowledge of membership’ in a social group together with the value and emotional significance attached to that membership” (Seo et al. 885). Self-Esteem is an important psychological need of human beings. These are internal factors that affect how people view their external factors, and can affect how people modify their personal behaviors (Nio,
Some may argue that technology helps us not feel lonely because technology is the way to escape reality for a bit and the internet can reconnect with our friends and family from around the world. We can save time by “shopping” online and communicate quickly by “email than postal mail” (Franzen 428). We can also communicate via webcam, especially for college students away from their family. It’s a way to reconnect with our love ones and stay in contact with our friends. We want to be “able to share our lives with others” and technology “allows us to do that with music, videos, pictures, and texts” (Arnett 477-479).