Dangers of Social Media: The Impact on Self-Esteem and Identity Formation
How are self-esteem and identity in adolescent girls influenced by social media?
The basic answer is that self-esteem and identity formation in adolescent girls is negatively influenced by social media. Adolescent girls are thinking poorly of their own bodies as well as wanting to change themselves to fit the "perfect" image portrayed in social media. Take your time as you read through each section to find more details.
" Facebook is really about popularity. And the popularity you have on Facebook transmits to the popularity you have in life."
(15-year-old, female student)
Too Much Time Online
A study of Facebook users in young adolescents revealed a correlation between online use and depressive symptoms. The study revealed that low self-image and self-esteem were a product of too much time online comparing oneself to others. The study also found that "girls who invest in social network sites were more susceptible than boys" to depressed moods and low self-esteem (McCrae, Gettings, & Purssell, 2017).
Additionally, young girls are more likely to engage in a comparison of attractiveness on social media platforms and comparisons which may act to lower self-esteem among adolescent females. Along with social media apps, such as Facebook and Instagram, comes the ability to alter and edit pictures. More and more celebrities, models, and famous people are using retouching techniques to portray a perfect image. Suddenly stretch marks are gone, faces are clearer and smoothed, waists are thinner, breasts and butts are larger, and more. These edits create unrealistic body standards for adolescent girls, who look up to these celebrities to see how they "should" look. This is extremely dangerous as young girls are very impressionable during adolescence. They constantly compare themselves to these online personas and as a result, become self-conscious and have very low self-esteem. This also harms their identity formation as they believe they should only act and look certain ways based on social media influences.
Photoshop & Editing
A study of 144 adolescent girls demonstrated how edited photos made girls have lower self-esteem and "significantly lower body satisfaction", compared with real photos. The study concluded that "It is worrisome that even short exposure to unfamiliar peers in a research setting can lead to direct changes in body image. The fact that girls believed that the presented Instagram photos showed a representative view of reality and did not notice the reshaping of the bodies very well reinforces these concerns. Adolescence is a critical period for psychosocial development and earlier research showed that girls in this phase are more vulnerable to media influences because they equate their own bodies with media image" (Kleemans, Daalmans, Carbaat, & Anschutz, 2016).
Even small changes as shown in the image were enough to change the adolescent girls' opinions of their own bodies, leaving them dissatisfied. This demonstrates the dangerous power edited materials on social media hold over young girls.
Social media:
"Normalizes an unrealistic body ideal, which is problematic as they serve as role models for girls and young women"
Social Media Gender Roles and Stereotypes
Another way social media influences identity is through gender roles and stereotypes. Specific gender roles and stereotypes are often enforced through social media. For instance, women on social media are portrayed as overly feminine, dressed up nicely with full make-up and hair. They are to be skinny, pretty, and always smiling and happy. Women on social media are depicted as being perfect (due to edits and photoshop). As a result, most adolescent girls feel pressure to form their own identity into something which "conforms to the norms accepted by and caused by the pressures of their peer group and social media" ( Seserman, 2021).
The dangers are that young girls are now looking at social media images as appropriate and accurate sources of information regarding appearance standards. Instead of having the freedom to choose their own path and develop their own identity, our adolescent girls are being heavily influenced to change into something that will fit in or be accepted with our current 'norms'.
Erikson's Identity Development
Erik Erikson was a psychologist who developed one of the most popular and influential theories of development, the eight stages of human development. One important stage is identity vs confusion. Erikson believed that adolescents' main task is establishing a new "ego identity," a feeling for who one is and one's place in the social order (Erikson, 1968). Teenagers spend a lot of time looking in mirrors and paying attention to their appearance, as they are trying to recognize who they are. Identity formation is very much a social matter. Adolescents, especially girls, worry that they may not look good to others or meet expectations. While identity formation is a life-long process, the bulk of the crisis occurs in adolescence. So many changes take place that challenge adolescents to decide who they want to be. The accompaniment of social media pressures makes identity development even harder, as young adolescents try to discover who they want to be while worrying about fitting in.
"Identity formation employs a process of simultaneous reflection and observation, a process taking place on all levels of mental functioning, by which the individual judges himself in the light of what he perceives to be the way in which others judge him in comparison to themselves and to a typology significant to them."
Erik Erikson (Youth in Crisis, 1968)
Glasser's Choice Theory
In addition to comparing themselves to celebrities and online personas, adolescent girls often compare themselves to their peers on social media. Psychiatrist William Glasser's Choice Theory states that humans are motivated by five basic needs: survival, belonging, power, freedom, and fun. This need to belong or experience love and acceptance is especially important during adolescence. Adolescents strongly desire peer acceptance. With access to social media, it is easy to get online and see what their peers are doing and emulate their behaviors, interests, and looks. The desire to be like one's peers makes it tricky to try new things and experience who you want to become.
The Desire for Peer Approval
A crucial part of young adolescence is answering the "who am I?" question. This sets into play a search for multiple identities including gender, sexual, social, ethnic, cultural, familial, socioeconomic, spiritual, and more. Adolescents seek to discover who they are and who they want to become.
At the same time, adolescents seek peer approval and are very sensitive to what other people have to say about them. They look to one another to see what is acceptable and what is not, as "social comparison and feedback-seeking are important means of forming a self-identity in adolescence" (McCrae, Gettings, & Purssell, 2017).
The desire for peer approval is escalated with the addition of social media. Once something is deemed popular or socially acceptable adolescents will copy this behavior in an attempt to be accepted and regarded as popular. On the contrary, if something is deemed lame or unpopular, adolescents will stop doing that or change themselves to avoid bullying or isolation. These highly influenced changes of behavior and self-identity, harm many adolescent girls, as they do not feel good enough compared to their peers and others whom they follow on social media. Young adolescents are changing their true or comfortable identities in order to fit in.
Social Media & Development
In addition to harming self-esteem and identity development, social media may also negatively affect other forms of development.
Academic Development - Studies have suggested that social media use for non-academic purposes negatively impacts academic performance regardless of students' intelligence. The frequent use of social media "disrupts their lecture learning, infiltrates their homework and studying experiences, and negatively impacts their achievement" (Siebert, 2019). When participating in collaborative learning activities, groups often have very limited conversations and claim that it is "awkward to talk to people." Social media negatively affects both academic development and social interactions.
Moral Development - Moral development is an ongoing process throughout one's life. However, "deciding what is 'right' is often a murky process for young adolescents, depending on the situations that arise in their lives and from whom they seek approval" (Brown & Knowles, 2014). The strong influence of social media and who adolescents look to for approval may alter their moral development, swaying them on what is wrong and right, and what should be accepted or not accepted. Disagreements about morals with parents over personal choices such as clothing, wearing makeup, friends, activities, and use of social media are common during adolescence.
Sexual Identity Development - Sexual orientation describes a preference for sexual partners and is a central aspect of adolescent development. A large majority of adolescents identify as heterosexual. Adolescents that identify with the LGTBQ+ community may face additional challenges due to social media. Social media is often filled with hatred and threats which may shield adolescents from expressing their true identities out of fear of not being accepted.