ABSTRACT

This paper discusses the way the younger generation of people, specifically between the ages of 15 and 25, spend a large amount of time on communication websites like Facebook, are more likely to have lower levels of self-esteem yet are more likely to have higher levels of companionship formed from online relationships between family and friends. This idea relates to the social media aspect of the conference through providing needed information about the topic to warn people about social media pressures and dangers, as well as the benefits and simplicity of email and message forums. Journal articles have provided finding from research studies conducted on groups of university students to form conclusions. It was concluded that my thesis was a true statement as it was backed up by studies and statistics found within the journal articles and research.

Keywords: Self-esteem, relationships, narcissism, identity, social media, Facebook, young people

People between the ages of 15 and 25 who spend a large amount of time on Facebook and Instagram tend to have lower levels of self-esteem, yet higher levels of companionship from online relationships. Ideas such as self-gratification, narcissism, and body dysmorphia are covered within this essay to further understand the scope of online influences, and the way in which people present their online identity. Journal articles and examples of company campaigns are to be included within this conference paper to add facts and evidence to the ideas and themes of social networks and online identities that are presented.

The low self-esteem aspect of my thesis is increasing in relevancy nowadays as it is seen through social media profiles. People, mainly young women, compare themselves to the likes of supermodels such as Kendall Jenner or Adriana Lima in order to better themselves and increase self-esteem. This pushes them to try to copy their looks, eating habits, workouts, etc. believing their daily lives are insufficient (Jones, 2017). Young people feel the need to be accepted into this society filled with “beautiful” people and will do whatever is required to be part of it. Media campaigns have been created to break down these negative associations, such as the Dove ‘Campaign for Real Beauty’ which featured women of all ages and ethnicities, to encourage self-love and acceptance (Jones, 2017).

The companionship part to my thesis I also believe to be true from personal experience with social media websites and apps such as Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram. Friends on Facebook do not equate to real people who people interact with, yet people seem to have more online “friends” on social media than they do in real-life. It creates links between people to form bonds and start conversations. Social media and dating websites give people the opportunity to expose themselves to the dating world and create connections with people of interest. Social media gives people new ways to connect and stay connected with friends and family.

The online persona people show may be different to what they are like in real life. The way in which a person presents themselves on a social media platform may be completely different to how their friends and family see them. People try to make themselves “better” online than what they may be in real life.

Within the identity stream and regarding self-presentation, the journal ‘All the World Wide Web’s a stage: The Performance of Identity in Online Social Networks’ (Pearson, 2009), discussed self-presentation and the way that social media outlets give people options to create and change aspects of themselves in an online sense, without relating too much to the real world to avoid privacy risks (Pearson, 2009). The metaphor of a “glass bedroom” is presented within the journal. Inside the glass walls, private and intimate conversations between people occur, yet the bedroom is not itself completely private as it’s made of glass. This presents the idea that social communication on online outlets are not completely transparent; “users outside the bedroom may engage or not; they may move on, or they may find themselves invited into the bedroom to continue a given conversation” (Pearson, 2009). Not everything posted online is true, the difference between what a young person makes themselves to be on social media, compared to what they are in reality is sometimes huge.

ARTICLES/DISCUSSION

Self-esteem is a big issue among young people all throughout their primary school and high school years. Teachers and adults are always telling the kids to do things that will boost their self-esteem or give them activities that will do so. Yet with the introduction of iPhones and laptops, these kids were exposed to social media at an early age. Therefore, their self-esteem has been damaged from an early age that then lead into their teenage years. Now by saying it has been damaged does not mean it has been ‘completely’ diminished, my thesis suggests the idea of social media decreasing self-esteem even in slight cases. Studies have shown that Instagram alone has approximately 9 million active users who use the app monthly, which equates to around 1 in 3 people in Australia (Cowling, 2019). This can mean that there are 9 million people exposed to social media pressures, decreasing their levels of self-esteem.

If people have self-esteem issues, they would likely stay on social media for self-gratification and offers of acceptance into society. This is where young people will make online friends and form relationships through websites and apps. This also starts from a young age as children around 10 years old are introduced to games like Fortnite or Call of Duty, games where they can speak to one another through headsets, without actually meeting in real-life. Facebook has the greatest number of users per month with an impressive 15 million active users, which equates to every 1 in 2 people use the website daily, while Snapchat attracts nearly 6.5 million monthly users (Cowling, 2019). Facebook’s demographic consists of 940,000 users between the ages of 13 and 17, and 3,500,000 users between the ages of 18 and 25 (Cowling, 2019). The statistics can give the idea that if there are millions of users active each day, this means that there may be millions of new or existing relationships connecting through that single website. With other social media platforms like Snapchat being used as a communication hub, the amount of conversations and connections happening in this moment would be incredible. An example of a brand actively fighting self-esteem issues is Activia, who launched their ‘It Starts Inside’ campaign to make women realise their self-worth and defeat their ‘inner critic’ (Macarelli, 2017). As technology and social media continues to grow within today’s society, people are more susceptible to self-esteem issues caused from peer comparison and negative body image views, yet the internet has created a way for people to connect and reconnect through online communication, despite low self-image ideas.

People hold relationships longer via online communication because it is quick and easy and has now become a norm for society to talk this way. The study conducted in the journal article “Relational Quality and Media Use in Interpersonal Relationships” written by Baym, et al., (Baym, Zhang, Kunkel, Ledbetter, & Lin, 2007), examines the relationship between relational quality and the level of social media use within those relationships. This journal article supports my thesis through the communication aspect. According to Baym, the level of communication within interpersonal relationships has increased through technological means such as the iPhones and the internet (Baym, Zhang, Kunkel, Ledbetter, & Lin, 2007). There have been studies conducted which concluded that internet usage is largely associated with higher levels of communications between relationships, with these relationships being of a high quality (Baym, Zhang, Kunkel, Ledbetter, & Lin, 2007).

A study from the Pew Research Centre (Pew Research Center, n.d.) produced data from the “Pew Internet and American Life Survey” which showed that women have increased likeliness to reach out to their friends and/or family each day through texts, emails, etc. when compared to men. Women were also more likely to pre-write emails like drafts, as well as have the ability to communicate a large and important subject matter via emails, also when compared to men. This may be due to the way women put themselves into a position where they find it to be their job to message and keep in contact with friends and family, long or short distance, as they tend to have a stronger sense of connection whilst writing emails and messages (Baym, Zhang, Kunkel, Ledbetter, & Lin, 2007). Although the ‘women’ included in that research means adult women, it still suggests a correlation of how females in general are more interested in communication and prefer to take control, probably being influenced from their childhood of social media and online exposure, and will likely grow up to be like the women described within the research.

In contrast, Baym has said that studies have shown that over the phone conversations are rated higher than email and texts when trying to maintain relationships and communication (Baym, Zhang, Kunkel, Ledbetter, & Lin, 2007). The level of closeness within those relationships was higher in over the phone conversations when compared to emails and texts as well (Baym, Zhang, Kunkel, Ledbetter, & Lin, 2007). This is because a person is more likely to ask for favours and/or advice through a phone conversation, rather than online.

Boase presents the idea that relationships formed from an online platform are made up of two elements; behaviour and cognition. The behaviour element discusses the social interaction through online mediums such as social media like Facebook and Instagram. The cognitive element discusses the emotional side to that which is made up through feeling of closeness and having friendships, as well as the overall knowledge that the friendship exists (Boase, 2008). Boase discusses that the elements are not related to the actual content of the communication, but rather the fact that the communication exists (Boase, 2008). “The more that communication technology is used to maintain the active connection that is vital to the existence of social ties, the greater its social significance” (Boase, 2008).

Studies have shown that media exposure, whether that be social media, television, etc., can create issues like body dissatisfaction which could lead to eating disorders or body dysmorphia (Perloff, 2014). The journal article written by Richard Perloff “Social Media Effects on Young Women’s Body Image Concerns: Theoretical Perspectives and an Agenda for Research” (Perloff, 2014) discusses the issues with women’s lack of self-esteem caused by social media use. This article also supports my thesis statement regarding low self-esteem issues and negative thoughts about one’s self due to social media pressures. Issues can be caused by the mass exposure to thin and attractive people which increases people’s own dissatisfaction with their bodies and their appearance, mainly women. Social norms and social pressures encourage young people to conform to society which means making them as “perfect” and “normal” as they can, which creates self-esteem issues as there becomes a lack of self-worth.

Perloff discusses the idea of self-objectification in females, defined as the “process by which girls and women come to view their bodies as objects to be looked at, much as an observer would” (Perloff, 2014). This constant point of view where women think everyone is judging them for not being perfect leads to body and emotional issues as previously mentioned.

The women who have these issues caused by social media, are more likely to seek social gratification, validation and/or reassurance (Perloff, 2014). This form of social comparison is a problem as people feel the need to conform to society which means they must change their appearance and/or personality in order to be popular or even just to be accepted by their peers.

Some studies have shown that young adults and teenagers who use social media platforms exercise increased levels of negative behaviours towards friends and family (Twenge, 2013). One study looked at a group of teenagers between the age of 12-18 years old, and found that social media users “were more likely to engage in antisocial and delinquent behaviour and less likely to help others” (Twenge, 2013). By saying this about their behaviour, levels of narcissism in their personality are increased. Research suggests that using social media platforms to update statuses and personal profiles increases self-love and positive views of self-image (Twenge, 2013). The journal “Does Online Social Media Lead to Social Connection or Social Disconnection?” written by Jean Twenge (Twenge, 2013), opposes my thesis statement as it discusses the way in which social media increases self-image and views of self-worth including self-esteem, but decreases relationship levels including friendship and family ties.

People tend to look to social media for ways of creating a better image of themselves. They compare themselves to others who they think highly of, this may be what gives people the concept of self-image, through viewing the world surrounding them (Ertürk, 2016). The journal “Analysis of the Relationship Between Self-Esteem and Levels of Narcissism Through Selfies of Instagram Users” written by Yıldız Dilek Erturk (Ertürk, 2016) also opposes my thesis statement as they discuss the way people thrive off of social approval and likeability which increases self-esteem. Each person creates their own personal version of reality, in which they create the best version of themselves possible to boost self-esteem (Ertürk, 2016).

CONCLUSION

To conclude on my thesis statement of young people who spend a substantial amount of time on social media tend to have decreased levels of self-esteem, yet increased levels of companionship from online relationships between friends and family, it has been supported by journal articles within the social media and identity streams, as well as research studies conducted on young adults.  The statistics used from Social Media News.com.au (Cowling, 2019) have shown an insight into the amount of users who spend time on social media platforms like Facebook and Snapchat, creating relationships through communication, but also exposing themselves to online comparison and judgement.

Smart technology is on the rise, along with its pros and cons. People, especially young adults and teenagers should understand the information presented in this paper and be careful to not fall into the trap that is social media, as the dangers can be incredible. More future studies must be conducted to understand the full extent of the damages caused by social media influences, but also how it is used to connect people from all over the world with one mouse click.

References:

(n.d.). Retrieved from Pew Research Center: https://www.pewinternet.org/

Baym, N. K., Zhang, Y. B., Kunkel, A., Ledbetter, A., & Lin, M. (2007). Relational Quality and Media Use in Interpersonal Relationships. New Media & Society, 9(5), 735-752. doi:10.1177/1461444807080339

Boase, J. (2008). Personal Networks and the Personal Communication System. Information, Communication & Society, 11(4). doi:10.1080/13691180801999001

Cowling, D. (2019, February 1). Social Media Statistics Australia – January 2019. Retrieved from Social Media News: https://www.socialmedianews.com.au/social-media-statistics-australia-january-2019/

Ertürk, Y. D. (2016). Analysis of the Relationship Between Self-Esteem and Levels of Narcissism Through Selfies of Instagram Users. AJIT-e, 7(24), 29-50. doi:10.5824/1309?1581.2016.3.002.x

Jones, B. (2017). Model Diversity in Fashion Advertising: The Influence of Self-Model Congruity on Body Appreciation. University of Minnesota.

Macarelli, R. (2017). Activia Launches ‘It Starts Inside’ Campaign. Retrieved from https://www.winsightgrocerybusiness.com/products/personalized-pet-food-tops-growing-category-trends

Pearson, E. (2009). All the World Wide Web’s a stage: The Performance of Identity in Online Social Networks. First Monday, 14(3). doi:10.5210/fm.v14i3.2162

Perloff, R. M. (2014). Social Media Effects on Young Women’s Body Image Concerns: Theoretical Perspectives and an Agenda for Research. Sex Roles, 71(11-12), 363-377. doi:10.1007/s11199-014-0384-6

Twenge, J. M. (2013). Does Online Social Media Lead to Social Connection or Social Disconnection? Journal of College & Character, 14(1), 11-20. doi:10.1515/jcc-2013-0003