Social media was made to uplift and bring people together, with relatable or funny content. Making friends and posting for fun, but can it affect your confidence negatively?
Positives:
While there are downsides to social media, there can be some positives as well. For example, you can make connections, online friends, and social circles. Just be careful who you befriend. Whether you’re posting about something you like or something you’d like to bring awareness about, you can find people that can bring you comfort or make you feel better. It is even scientifically proven that sharing and talking about a similar interest with someone boosts your confidence.
Negatives:
Although there are good things about being on social media, there can be many cons to it as well. Misinformation and AI/fake videos can be bad, but the main effects on young teenagers are on your confidence and mental health. “Social media has made me really insecure in the past.” – Anonymous. Social media can be really harmful to your self esteem and confidence, and there can be many ways it can affect you negatively.
Countries that are against social media for teens:
- France
- Denmark
- Norway
- Spain
- Australia
- China
- India
- United Kingdom
Effects on your confidence:
Social media’s effect on a teenager’s confidence usually isn’t a good one. Social media can be a very toxic place and it can be really easy to get cyber-bullied. One single comment could very easily bring down your confidence, and since it’s behind a screen you’ll never know who said that with their “secret/private” account. “Cyber-bullying, social comparison, and addiction to social media are a few of the negative impacts observed on young people.” According to Society advancement psychotherapy, social media can easily ruin someone’s confidence, whether it’s a small comment behind a screen or someone dm-ing you hurtful things to you. Another thing that lowers self esteem on social media is comparison. It is very common for many teenagers now to scroll on a social media app, such as Tiktok or Snapchat and see someone you wished you looked like.
