Social Media and Self-Esteem in Teenagers – Everything You Need to Know

Your kids are growing up with smartphones in their hands. Naturally, teenagers rely on the virtual world to find entertainment and pretty much everything else they crave these days.

If you look at the latest statistics, social media platforms like Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram are a regular go-to for almost 94% of teenagers. Since these platforms play such a vital part in your teen’s life, they’re probably spending a lot of time on social networks daily.

If you’re concerned about the impact of social media platforms on your teen and their self-esteem, there are a few things you should know to be able to help your child. Read on to learn how social media affects your teen and their life.

Social media apps and websites have reshaped how teenagers connect with others, interact with their friends, and share information with the world. Social media-related technological advancements affect young adults the most, making teenagers the highest consumers of online content.

There are new social media services every day, drawing the attention of kids and adolescents alike. In fact, teen usage of social media increases as the number of new services grows. Naturally, all these newly developed situations raise quite a few questions for parents.

For example, many parents state concerns about their kids spending too much time on social media. Most of them aren’t aware of how too much time spent on these networks affects their kids.

If you are a concerned parent, you should know that social media can positively and negatively impact your child’s social life. On a more positive side, social networks allow your teen to connect with like-minded people, share interests, post about their favorite artists, celebrities, and sports, and even engage in relationships.

However, many studies suggest negative links between excessive social media usage and teens’ low self-esteem. In addition, it’s also important to know that different types of social media activities impact your teen’s self-esteem differently.

Today, teenagers rely heavily on social networks to connect with like-minded people and boost self-esteem. They seek affirmation from others in any way they can. Your teen uses social media networks as a form of visual communication.

They communicate everything about themselves through photos and videos and leave comments on photo or video posts of their friends. That’s precisely where the problem with social media lies.

Representing themselves through images and videos gives your teen a false impression of the physical appearance they should create for themselves online. That inevitably leads to developing self-esteem issues and other associated negative emotions.

Relying excessively on the virtual world may negatively impact your teen’s self-esteem, resulting in body image issues, online harassment, negative feedback, and even mental health problems.

Here are some expert facts for you to help you understand the connection between social media and your teen’s social life:

• Research has indicated that social media can be more addictive for young adults than tobacco or alcohol;
• Since social media are free and always available, teens feel more compelled to use social networks;
• Social media exposes teens to comparisons, such as interests, clothes, material possessions, and appearances;
• Social media overwhelm teens with messages about what they should like and who they should be;
• Many teens use social media networks to gain popularity and get more people to like them, which could lead to self-esteem issues when they don’t receive the desired attention.

As you can see, there are good and bad things about social media usage in teenagers. That’s why you should talk to your child about social media to prevent negative impacts on their mental health.

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Before you view social media through negative eyes only, you should keep in mind that there are some positive sides to them. When used correctly, these networks can offer many social benefits for your child.

For example, your child can connect with people who share their interests. They can find connections to communities, services, information, and even job opportunities they might not otherwise be able to find.

On the other hand, social media has various mental health effects on teens. Since teens are more prone to self-esteem issues, social media could lead your teen to develop mental health problems. That’s because teens are less aware of who they are and who they want to be.

Social media exposes them to unhealthy comparisons with others regarding looks, material possessions, interests, and what have you. If your child already has some self-esteem issues, stepping into a virtual world of social comparison could wreak havoc on your teen’s mental health.

Though social comparison may help your teen feel better about their abilities and traits, it can also make them feel inferior and worthless. Do you know what’s crazy? These negative feelings will only amplify if your teen is a frequent social media user.

Social media can positively impact your teen’s mental health, but it can also lower their self-esteem. Here are five main negative effects of social networks on teenage self-esteem.

• Cyberbullying and Online Violence

The majority of teens succumb to online harassment or cyberbullying at some point. According to most teens who have been harassed or bullied online, these are major social media problems for teenagers.

Cyberbullying and online violence, in general, can expose your teen to various negative emotions, such as humiliation, frustration, anger, hate, and sadness. All these feelings can contribute to the feelings of worthlessness and low self-esteem.

Since cyberbullies can easily get away with online harassment due to the anonymity social media provide, victims can’t do much to prevent it. According to research by the University of Georgia, frequent social media users are more likely to become cyberbullies or fall victim to some form of online violence.

• Negative Feedback on Social Media

Negative feedback and peer pressure have been around for a long time, but social media have aggravated these problems. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter expose your teen to negative feedback from other users, creating more sources of peer pressure.

This constant exposure can feel stressful for your teen, causing them to feel anxious, depressed, and unhappy about who they are. If negative feedback goes viral, your child could take risky actions to get others to like them.

• Feeling Less Worthy When Compared to Others

Your teen posts about the highlights of their life on social media, just like everybody does. Their posts only show the most enviable moments while concealing their struggles, efforts, failures, and other more mundane aspects of everyday life.

While there’s nothing wrong with wanting to show others their best, social comparison to others who have more or do better than your teen may make them feel less worthy in their own eyes. That negative emotion could fuel self-doubt and leave your teen less confident about them themselves, which inevitably leads to lower self-esteem.

• Mental Health Issues

Your teen’s physical appearance plays a critical role in developing high self-esteem. Most teens are insecure about their looks. If other users fuel those insecurities, your teen may develop various mental health issues, such as anxiety, stress, panic attacks, depression, and sleeping and eating disorders. In the most severe cases, teens can succumb to suicidal thoughts and self-harm.

• Exposure to Inappropriate Content

Exposure to inappropriate content is among the major concerns about social media for parents worldwide. From dark material and photos of self-harm to abusive language, violence, and pornography, it’s virtually impossible to shield your teen from interacting with such content on social networks.

Viewing dangerous content can leave your teen with unrealistic expectations of relationships, life, and everything else. They could get a wrong impression of what they should look like, how they should behave, and what kind of relationship they should have. The first time they come across disapproval from others that might put a lot of strain on their self-esteem.

Things are not all bad in the world of social media. Here are some positive social media sites to keep in mind.

Social media can help your teen get online support for what they’re good at. They can connect with like-minded friends, share common interests, and receive positive feedback from their peers. Social networks can also improve your teen’s creativity through words of encouragement.

If your child's achievements receive praise online, it could help boost their self-esteem and self-image. Moreover, some networks like Instagram give your teen access to positive online role models and influencers who create valuable content that can educate your teen on building healthy habits and positive outlook.

Social media can make your teen feel like they belong and are part of something big and important. Social networks allow teens to meet new friends and become a part of communities where they can find acceptance for who they are. This acceptance can help teens who feel less worthy, marginalized, or isolated, including kids with mental health problems.

An active social media presence can help teens connect emotionally with those they care for. Sharing updates lets your child stay in touch with a supportive, encouraging, and loving network of friends. This confirmation and emotional connection are paramount to improving self-esteem in teenagers.

You can take many measures to protect your teen and encourage responsible use of social networks. These measures can help you reduce the negative impact of social media on your teen’s mental health.

Since you can’t keep your child from using social media (in fact, this could make things even worse), you should consider using a trustworthy parental control application like Wondershare FamiSafe.

The Famisafe parental control app is your digital parenting assistant dedicated to supporting your parenting efforts. The app provides all top-grade parental control features for navigating the challenges and hardships of parenthood in the digital age.

FamiSafe can help you control how your teen uses social media thanks to features like:

• Device activity – prevent excessive social media use with remote screen time management that allows you to block social media apps and limit screen time on your teen’s smartphone and other internet-enabled devices.
• Web filtering – ensure secure web browsing for your teen by blocking risky websites, filtering web content, and removing inappropriate content from your child's device.
• Content safety – block explicit content using an AI-powered content safety option to remove inappropriate pictures and suspicious content from your child's device. FamiSafe also empowers you to monitor your teen’s phone activity and browser history to detect and remove suspicious content across social apps and streaming platforms like YouTube.

FamiSafe equips you with powerful parental control features to help you protect your children from the digital threats of the internet. You can get in control over your teen’s internet usage and determine the best social media practices for your child.

If you believe that social media might negatively affect your teen’s mental health, the sooner you react, the better. If you’ve recently noticed symptoms of depression, anxiety, or stress in your teen, talk to them to get to the bottom of the problem.

If any of these signs connect to social media use, contact your teen’s healthcare provider to work things out as soon as possible. Sometimes, you can sort things out by being open and honest with your teen.

If the problems persist, you should consider online therapy or in-person treatment, depending on your child's symptoms and mental health condition.