"A Case Study on The Influence of Social Media on Teens' Self-Esteem"
"A Case Study on The Influence of Social Media on Teens' Self-Esteem"
The world of technology is getting wider and bigger. In today's' era, given that our use of technology particularly on social media has been increasing because of the pandemic and other circumstances. Many studies have been conducted to investigate the positive and negative aspects of social media. Valkenburg, Peter, & Schouten (2006), concluded that "positive feedback on profiles enhanced adolescents' social self-esteem and well-being, whereas negative feedback decreased their self-esteem and well-being" (pp.584). The purpose of this study is to determine if social media influences teens' self-esteem and the best solutions to mitigate this kind of phenomenon.
BACKGROUND
Technology has made magnificent advances in the past decade and is widely utilized across the world. A large percentage of the population has access to the Internet at their fingertips, whether it is with smartphones, computers, tablets, or laptops. Along with more access comes more exposure to media, which can have advantages and disadvantages. The media can be very informative with what is happening around the world and can keep one up to date on current events. It may also serve as a source for education for students. On the other hand, the media has several downfalls. A main disadvantage of the media, people are vulnerable to body image issues due to the idolization of celebrities with perfect bodies and glamorous looks, posts that will keep them down. “Depression and low self-esteem have been consistently linked in social comparison research and low self-concept clarity has been strongly associated with lower levels of self-esteem” (Durkin, Paxton, Sorbello, 2007, pp. 1096). Eating disorders may be a resulting complication due to poor body image as well, stemming from social comparison to incredibly thin models. Social media possesses similar impacts upon people as the media does, including influences on self-esteem, body image, mental health, and eating disorders. According to Polce-Lynch, Myers, Kliewer, & Kilmartin (2000), “self-esteem, which refers to a person’s general sense of worth or acceptance, is recognized for the critical role it plays in mental health and psychopathology” (pp. 226). This knowledge places emphasis on discovering how social media may influence self-esteem due to its overwhelming presence in today’s society.
Body Image and Body Dissatisfaction
Social comparison is an instrumental piece in explaining how the media may influence people’s perceptions of their body image and their self-esteem. “Social comparison theory, in which individuals develop a self-evaluation in comparison with others, has also been used to explain media influence” (Benowitz-Fredericks, Garcia, Massey, Vasagar, Borzekowski, 2012, pp. 693). Most individuals are compelled to evaluate themselves by comparing their abilities and body image with others (Durkin, Paxton, & Sorbello, 2007, pp. 1093). “Commercials with celebrities as a target group often use beautiful, slim models to promote their products” (Anschutz, Strien, Engles, 2008, pp. 401). Even though people may recognize that many models and celebrities in the media are unhealthy, underweight, and airbrushed to perfection, their self-esteem and body image are still negatively affected.
“Significant positive relationships between exposure to fashion or beauty magazines and overall appearance dissatisfaction and eating disorder tendencies were found” (Kim & Lennon, 2007, pp. 3). According to Clay, Vignoles, & Dittmar (2005), “the body size of women celebrities in the media is often more than 20% underweight” (pp. 452). However, Gibbs (2010) stated, “thin images of women in magazines cause body dissatisfaction in some women” (pp. 14). Clay, Vignoles, & Dittmar (2005) researched how adolescent girls felt after being shown images of ultra-thin models and average-sized models and came to the conclusion that viewing these images negatively correlated with self-esteem and body satisfaction (pp. 460). After they viewed the pictures, measures of self-esteem and body satisfaction were evaluated using surveys. Examples of questions on the survey included, “Attractiveness is very important if you want to get ahead in our culture,” “Clothes look better on thin models,” “In our society, fat people are regarded as unattractive,” and “Most people would consider me good looking” (Clay, Vignoles, Dittmar, 2005, pp. 460-61). When the girls viewed the model's pictures, both ultra-thin and average, it had a negative correlation with self-esteem (Clay, Vignoles, Dittmar, 2005; Dittmar, Halliwell, Stirling; 2009; Brown & Dittmar, 2005; Stice, Schupak-Neuberg, Shaw, & Stein, 1994).
Durkin, Paxton, & Sorbello (2007) researched the effects of body satisfaction on self-esteem by using a similar design as Clay, Vignoles, & Dittmar and came to the conclusion that viewing idealized models decreased body satisfaction and body image (pp. 1092). However, there were no differences in body dissatisfaction between viewing the average-size models and the ultra-thin models for the adolescent girls in Clay, Vignoles, and Dittmar’s study. Previous research showed when adult women viewed the average-sized model in comparison to the ultra-thin, there was “a relief effect after seeing average-size models” (Clay, Vignoles, Dittmar, 2005, pp. 468). In Durkin, Paxton, & Sorbello’s study (2007), they examined a pathway between several factors such as self-esteem, psychological functioning, self-concept clarity, idealization of the ideal body, body comparison tendency, and change in body satisfaction following image exposure (pp. 1103). They found that “most paths in the proposed model were strong and significant” (pp. 1104). Granantino & Haytko (2013) also looked at age and determined even though adult women become distressed about body image, “so do very young children, who are less equipped to deal with the pressures put on them by the media, their peers, and society in general” (pp. 46).
Most people would think the media influences only women’s body satisfaction, but males’ body satisfaction is also affected. Spurr, Berry, & Walker (2013) conducted a qualitative study and put together a focus group of adolescents to discuss their feelings and views on healthy ideals and wellness. One of the male adolescents in the group brought up the fact that the media negatively influences males as well; “media affects boys the same way it affects other people too. They see that figure on TV of being toned and muscular and they want to be like that” (Spurr, Berry, & Walker, 2013, pp. 27). It has also been discovered that “a higher level of male-directed magazine readership correlates with a stronger desire to improve one’s body, particularly one’s muscularity” (Morrison & Halton, 2009, pp. 59) and “unrealistic expectations are realized as the sculpted, lean muscular body” (Wright, Halse, Levy, 2016, pp. 7).
The same common themes were brought up in the focus group that has also been proven in a vast majority of studies on the same topic: the negative impact of media on body image, the unattainable body goals being set by adolescents, skewed thoughts about what a healthy body looks like, and pressure to conform to the western views of physical appearance (Spurr, Berry, & Walker, 2013, pp. 28-29; Ganatra, 2012, pp. 25; Giordano, 2015 pp. 479; Thomson & Heinberg, 1999). Ahern, Bennett, Kelly, & Hetherington (2011) received similar results when running two different focus groups with females ranging from adolescence to mid-20s; to begin the discussion, the groups were shown images of models and celebrities (pp. 71). Again, several themes were repeatedly occurring throughout the focus group including a desire for thinness, the pressure from the media, and negative emotions about body shapes (Ahern, Bennett, Kelly, & Hetherington, 2011, pp. 76). According to Benowitz-Fredericks, Garcia, Massey, Vasagar, Borzekowski (2012), “media effects seem to be cumulative, in that, in most cases, greater exposure to overt messages regarding appearance predicts internalization of these social ideals” (pp. 698).
Eating Disorders, Abnormal Eating, and Excessive Exercise Habits
Another complication that arises with poor self-esteem and poor body image is eating disorders, abnormal eating, and excessive exercise habits. Numerous studies have proved that body dissatisfaction can lead one to engage in an eating disorder. There is a great difference between every day women’s bodies and unattainable, unrealistic models’ bodies, which makes women feel bad about themselves and leads them to feel compelled to exercise more and lose weight (Dunkley, Wer- theim, & Paxton, 2001; Stice & Shaw, 2002; Polivy & Herman, 2004). Bennett, Kelly, & Hetherington (2011) state that body dissatisfaction is “a robust predictor of dieting, binge eating, and eating disorders. It is also associated with taking diet pills, laxatives, excessive exercise and smoking and can lead to unnecessary cosmetic surgery” (pp. 71). High school girls are very much affected by the media and how “images in magazines encourage body dissatisfaction and a desire to lose weight” (Ahern, Bennett, Kelly, Hetherington, 2011, pp. 76). Even athletes who exercise often and are in shape are “pressured to conform to social and sporting norms concerning body weight” and “reported higher levels of body dissatisfaction and greater disordered eating symptomatology” (Kong & Harris, 2015, pp. 141). “Following from the accepted belief that caloric restriction is an effective means of weight control, body dissatisfaction is also thought to result in elevated dieting behaviors” (Stice & Bearman, 2001, pp. 598). Furthermore, Polivy & Herman (2004) state that the more dissatisfied a woman is with her body, the greater the likelihood that she will try to lose weight, “and dieting has itself been identified as another contributor to disordered eating” (pp. 4).
Overexposure to media, such as magazine articles focusing on weight loss, degrading overweight characters on TV, underweight actresses, and overly muscular actors, are not ideal for adolescents due to their heightened impressionability. “A third of female characters on sitcoms are below-average weight. These women receive more positive comments about their appearance and are involved in more romantic relationships than heavier characters” (Benowitz-Fredericks, Garcia, Massey, Vasagar, Borzekowski, 2012, pp. 694). There are repeated messages, from the media especially, saying that if ‘if you don’t look like this, you are not considered attractive.’ This may potentially lead to thinking negatively about oneself and can become a habit. Thinking habitually negative things about oneself will eventually lead to feelings of low self-worth, which is proved to be correlated with engaging in abnormal eating patterns (Verplanken & Tangelder, 2011, pp. 687). Stice, Schupak-Neuberg, Shaw, & Stein (1994) founded “significant direct effects of media exposure on eating disorder symptomatology and gender-role endorsement” (pp. 838).
Mäkinen, Puukko-Viertomies, Lindberg, Siimes, and Aalberg (2012) performed a study in which school nurses would take the height and weight of students; those students would then complete a self-appraisal scale, body dissatisfaction subscale, a self-esteem scale, and an eating disorder inventory (pp. 2-3). Boys were more satisfied with their bodies and reported greater self-esteem compared to girls. “Girls expressed most satisfaction with their bodies when they were underweight, more dissatisfaction when they were normal weight and most dissatisfaction when they had excess body weight” (Mäkinen, Puukko-Viertomies, Lindberg, Siimes, and Aalberg, 2012, pp. 1). Boys had a similar response in regards to body satisfaction and dissatisfaction, but the girls’ responses were more profound. There was also a pattern of abnormal eating that was occurring among the adolescents who were less satisfied with their bodies (Mäkinen, Puukko-Viertomies, Lindberg, Siimes, and Aalberg, 2012, pp. 1 & 5). Ferguson, Munoz, Contreras, Velasquez (2011) also observed that “Body Mass Index (BMI) plays an important role in body dissatisfaction” and the “best predictors of body dissatisfaction were mood symptoms such as depression and anxiety as well as BMI” (pp. 469 & 476).
Research has uncovered a chain reaction involved with poor body image, disturbed eating, and depression. Depression is not mainly associated with body image, but more with “emotional reactivity, deficits in social support, and stressful life events” (Stice & Bearman, 2001, pp. 597). Although, individuals who are depressed and have a poor body image are at a greater risk in developing an eating disorder. “Dieting is theorized to contribute to depression, because emotional distress may result from the failures associated with dietary efforts” (Stice & Bearman, 2001, pp. 598). Appearance is a huge staple in the Western Society and depression may result if an individual does not like what he/she sees in the mirror. According to Stice & Bearman (2001), the average size of a fashion model is “5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 115 pounds,” which is not attainable for many women. Yet, women compare themselves to models and feel as though they need to restrict their eating and exercise more. Stice & Bearman (2001) founded that “levels of perceived pressure, thin-ideal internalization, body dissatisfaction, dieting, and bulimic symptoms showed the expected correlations with increases in depressive symptoms” (pp. 601). Along with severe depression comes suicidal ideation, which is prevalent in adolescence. Unfortunately, “individuals with eating disorders have a high lifetime frequency of suicide attempts” (Brausch & Gutierrez, 2009, pp. 60). Brausch & Gutierrez (2009) were able to test high school students to determine what is contributing to the suicidal ideation and discovered that “disordered eating habits and extreme weight control methods are significantly related to suicide ideation” (pp. 67).
The Negative Effects of Social Media
There has been a great deal of research contributing towards the knowledge that media influences self-esteem, body image, body satisfaction, and eating habits. However, there is not as much information on how social media may manipulate self-esteem, body image, and mental health due to the fact that social media is relatively new. Social media may bring out many issues due to social comparison. According to Kalnes (2013), there is a perpetual cycle that adolescent girls may engage in due to the overwhelming amount of time spent on social media; if the girls are constantly comparing themselves to others from being on social media, it will become a habit, thus degrading their self-image and self-esteem. Schufreider (2015) states that people may compare many aspects on Facebook including “appearance, clothing style, love life, or social calendar” and the longer amount of time users spends on Facebook, the more time they have to compare to others, “which caused users to begin to feel poorly about themselves, their self-worth, and their self-image” (pp. 17). Blease (2015) asserts that because there is so much social competition on Facebook, individuals are being exposed to a variety of others who appear successful on social media “evinced by the content of profile images, galleries, and status updates” (pp. 9).
Another aspect that social media can influence is the sense of belongingness. The sense of belongingness may increase or decrease based upon the social media use. For instance, if one has many friends or followers on social media, he/she might have a greater sense of belongingness. On the other hand, people may feel a “disconnection from society by spending more time perusing others’ profiles on Facebook” (Schufreider, 2015, pp. 15). Having an increased sense of belongingness is incredibly important because humans are social beings. The level of support and belongingness one has in life may be a buffer to negative life events or stressful situations. Schufreider (2015) states high levels of connectedness help “individuals manage their emotions…facilitate keeping the individual’s overwhelming negative feelings at bay” and “can also lessen one’s low level of self-esteem” (pp. 14). All of these aspects assist an individual to have greater quality of life. Having a decreased sense of belongingness may contribute to a poor self-esteem.
Also, people receive social recognition when they get “likes” or “comments” on their pictures or statuses; “if users receive ‘likes’ or ‘comments’ from high status ‘friends’ this may result in boosts in self-esteem and feelings of well-being” (Blease, 2015, pp. 9). People also place so much importance and a great amount of their self-worth into amount of ‘likes’ and ‘comments’ they receive on social media; ergo, if they do not receive as many ‘likes’ and ‘comments’ as they thought they would, it might affect their self-esteem, self-worth, and trigger mild depressive symptoms. Not only is self-esteem and self-worth influenced by Facebook use, but also “the level of life satisfaction was the lowest among addicted Facebook users” (Blachnio, Prezepiorka, Pantic, 2015, pp. 703). Albooshi (2015) claims people “revealed that their use of social networks like Facebook and Twitter has made their lives worse” (pp. 9). Facebook users who are not addicted are more satisfied with their lives (Blachnio, Prezepiorka, Pantic, 2015, pp. 703).
Unfortunately, the negative impact of social media does not stop there; depending upon the relationships formed, the tone of the reactions, and frequency of reactions on social media all play into self-esteem and well-being (Valkenburg, Peter, Schouten, 2006, pp. 589). It can become very problematic if an individual is receiving a copious amount of negative reactions on his/her posts or pictures on social media and allows the negativity to affect his/her well-being and self-esteem. Because “peer acceptance and interpersonal feedback on the self are important features of friend network sites,” frequent use of these sites can potentially do more harm than good (Valkenburg, Peter, Schouten, 2006, pp. 584). Adolescents are especially at risk because their self-image is heavily characterized by peer influence and a significant piece during this developmental period is an “increased focus on the self” (Valkenburg, Peter, Schouten, 2006, pp. 585).
Facebook Depression Phenomenon
Recent studies have contributed towards research on the phenomenon of ‘Facebook Depression.’ Depression is a very common mental health issue among adolescents and young adults; unfortunately, even though it is common, it is often overlooked and undiagnosed. Moreno, Jelenchick, Egan, Cox, Young, Gannon, & Becker (2011) conducted a study in which they took the criteria of depression and used it to determine if one would be able to pick up any symptoms on Facebook (pp. 447). They founded “25% of profiles disclosed one or more depressive symptoms on status updates; the most common type of depression symptom reference was depressed mood” (Moreno, Jelenchick, Egan, Cox, Young, Gannon, & Becker, 2011, pp. 450).
The research of Rosen, Whaling, Rab, Carrier, & Cheever (2013) tested whether Facebook use could predict clinical symptoms of different disorders (pp. 1244). “Those participants who spent more time online and those who performed more Facebook impression management evidenced more clinical symptoms of major depression” (Rosen, Whaling, Rab, Carrier, & Cheever, 2013, pp. 1247). The results also showed that individuals would display less clinical symptoms if they had more friends on Facebook (Whaling et. Al, 2013, pp. 1247). However, Jelenchick, Eickhoff, & Moreno (2012) used an online survey to “evaluate the association between social networking site use and depression in older adolescents,” but their evidence was inconclusive and they did not find any relationship (pp. 128).
Selfies and their Influence on Self-Esteem
People post “selfies” to gain social desirability as well as “to enhance their self-esteem, which occurs through the number of “likes” the selfie receives” (Pounders, Kowalczyk, Stowers, 2016, pp. 1880). When individuals have high self-esteem, they are less likely to let a lower number of “likes” or “comments” affect or bother them. Alblooshi (2015) used a correlational research design to study self-esteem and the number of selfies a person takes and posts; from that research, the results indicated people with lower self-esteem took less “selfies” compared to people with high self-esteem (pp. 22 & 28). Even though there was not a significant difference between the average number of selfies taken by people with low self-esteem (6.61) and people with high self-esteem (8.15), people with higher self-esteem may be taking more selfies because they are more comfortable with their appearances (Alblooshi, 2015, pp. 28).
Facebook allows users to post many pictures for other people to see. Adolescents or young adults may post pictures to receive attention; however, if Facebook users do not receive the attention they may want, it degrades their body images and self-esteem. Furthermore, there are a variety of reasons and motivators as to why people post pictures of themselves, otherwise known as “selfies”. According to Hum, Chamberlin, Hambright, Portwood, Schat, & Bevan (2011), research has found that a motivation to use Facebook is to enhance self-image and to gain social desirability; so, individuals may be more inclined to only display pictures of themselves when they are dressed a certain way or enhance the picture to make them look good (pp. 1831). This can create a complicated situation if many people are comparing themselves to others on social media and are seeing images that have been edited or digitally improved with different filters.
Another theory on the motivation of taking selfies involves the need for popularity, in other words “to do certain things to appear popular” (Wang, Yang, Haigh, 2015, pp. 3). Wang, Yang, & Haigh (2015) used a scale to measure need for popularity and founded that people who scored high in need for popularity also posted more selfies (pp. 8). Interestingly, the researchers also tested how selfie viewing influenced self-esteem and their results indicated that “selfie viewing had a significant negative effect on self-esteem, indicating the more frequent people view selfies on social media, the lower their self-esteem, which led to decreased life satisfaction” (Wang, et. Al, 2015, pp. 6). Interestingly, the influence of selfies may also be determined based upon one’s attitude about selfies. “Perceiving one’s own selfie behavior as self-ironic and only half-committed allows to fulfill self-presentational needs without feeling narcissistic (Diefenbach & Christoforakos, 2017, pp. 1).
METHODOLOGY
Participants
This study was composed of 120 participants. The sample included high school students from three (3) different high schools namely: (1) Seminario De Jesus Nazareno, Inc.; (2) St. Mary's College of Borongan; (3) Eastern Samar National Comprehensive Highschool and each of them containing forty (40) participants/students ranging from age 12-18. The participants first completed a survey that measured their self-esteem and then answered questions pertaining to their social media use and after they finished responding a survey about preventive measurements against the influence of social media use on their self-esteem.
Materials
A self-esteem survey, generated by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, was utilized for this study to measure the participants' self-esteem. This inventory survey was 10 questions and included statements such as “I certainly feel useless at times” and “I take a positive attitude toward myself” to which participants circled their agreement with each statement using the following: Strongly Agree, Somewhat Agree, Somewhat Disagree, and Strongly Disagree, as shown in the Appendix. A second survey, created by the researcher, was used to determine the participants’ social media use, as shown in the Appendix. The survey contained questions such as “What is the greatest number of ‘friends’ or ‘followers’ you have on one of your social media accounts?” “If you post a picture of yourself on social media, about how many pictures do you take before you post it,” and “How many ‘likes’ do you usually receive on your selfie.” A third survey, also created by the researcher, was used to determine the participants' preventive measurements against the influence of social media use on their self-esteem, as shown in the Appendix. The survey contained questions such as "Whenever I feel ashamed of myself I always come to my parents and talk to them about what I feel" "It is much better for me to ignore and lessen the use of Social Media in order to build up my self-esteem," and "It is better to consult a psychiatrist whenever I feel discontented with my body posture and everything" to which participants circled their agreement with each statement using the following: Strongly Agree, Somewhat Agree, Somewhat Disagree, and Strongly Disagree, as shown in the Appendix The participants filled out their own answers to the questions.
Design
A correlational design was used for this study to determine if self-esteem and the use of social media have any relationship: positive, negative, or both. The independent variable for the study was the use of social media, measured using the social media survey. The dependent variable is self-esteem and was measured by the self-esteem survey.
Procedure
Permission was first given to the researcher to conduct the current study utilized the student body of the three high schools for a sample pool. The survey was answered by the participants through Google Forms. The Google Forms is a survey administration software included as part of the free, web-based Google docs Editors suite offered by Google. The participants signed an assent form as well including their valid email address, full name, designated schools, age, gender, and formal address of their own. The researcher scored the self-esteem surveys using the key from the CDC survey. The survey that measured the social media use and the CDC survey are the ones tested in a
RESULTS
The relationship between social media use and self-esteem was researched more in-depth by utilizing three surveys: one self-esteem survey from the CDC, one survey created by the researcher that measured social media use, and one survey also created by the researcher pertaining to the preventive measurements against the influence of social media use. The three surveys were given to 120 participants from three different high schools, 81 boys and 39 girls. There were 20 freshmen, 30 sophomores, 30 juniors, and 40 seniors. Data was collected using all of the participants for three sets. Fortunately, all of the participants have their social media that's why all of them proceeded to the second and third set of the survey.
The researcher’s hypothesis was simply that social media use influenced self-esteem. Each question on the social media survey measured different variables of social media use. The participants gave a number answer for each question and the number was run through a correlation against their self-esteem score. Self-esteem scores were calculated using the key of the survey from the CDC.
The mean self-esteem score for males was slightly higher (M= 23.49, SD= 5.39) compared to females (M= 21.36, SD= 5.66). Out of 13 social media variables tested against self-esteem, two presented a correlation when using all 120 participants. When comparing self-esteem score and if the participants were bothered if they did not receive as many “likes” or “retweets” as they expected to receive on a post, r (120) = - .573, p < .01, displaying a negative linear trend as shown in Figure 1. Self-esteem score and how long the participants wait to check their social media (in minutes) after they have posted something also showed a correlation: r (120) = .242, p < .01, showing a positive linear trend in Figure 2. The rest of the variables using 120 participants did not present correlations. Self-esteem score and how often participants posted on social media r (120) = -.033. Self-esteem score the hours spent on social media correlation was reported r (120) = -.116. Self-esteem score and the greatest number of friends on social media was r (120) = .141. Self-esteem score and the number of social media accounts were calculated to be r (120) = -.084. Self-esteem score and how often the participants checked their social media after they have posted something reported r (120) = -.017. A correlation was run between self-esteem score and how much time the participants spent editing a picture (in minutes) before they posted it on social media and it was calculated as r (120) = -.087. The next correlation was between self-esteem score and how many pictures the participants took of themselves before they posted one r (120) = -0.39. A correlation was run between self-esteem score and negative comments received on social media in the past week, r (120) = 0.76. Self-esteem score and positive comments received on social in the past week, r (120) = .151. Self-esteem score and the number of likes on the last selfie posted was r (120) = .172 and lastly, self-esteem and the number of likes the participants usually receive on their selfies, r (120) = .172.
ALTERNATIVES
Self-esteem is how you feel about yourself, or the opinion you have about yourself. everyone has times when they feel a bit low or find it hard to believe in themselves. However, if this becomes a long-term situation, this can lead to problems, including mental health issues such as depression or anxiety. Some of the symptoms of low self-esteem can also be a sign of these problems.
After the questionnaires were collected certain interviews were conducted and some people were asked what would be the possible alternatives to this kind of problem. According to some experts, there are approximately 88% of people engage in making social comparisons on Facebook, and out of the 88%, 98% of the comparisons are upward social comparisons. These upward comparisons in most of the cases have a negative effect on the self-esteem of people (Vogel, Rose, Roberts, and Eckles, 2014). The alternatives are given to the participants in the following:
(These were some of the alternatives that the researcher provided in the survey):
Talking to your family especially your parents about what you feel.
Parents should take an active role here by guiding their children regarding self-esteem, self-recognition, self-actualization, and self-confidence. Talking to your parents is very much important for today's youth, they are somewhat the great remedy to all your downfalls. It creates a wider prospect of understanding when you talk with your parents (Williams and George, 2009). Also, this alternative may be useful right now because we are with them most of the time.
Building teens' self-esteem is an ongoing part of parenting. Letting teens do things for themselves helps them acquire needed skills. When parents respect their children, the children learn to respect themselves. And when parents show affection, teens learn how to share their feelings with others, (MC| Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh).
Studies show that children and teens who feel confident are better able to stand up to disasters in life. Parents should give kids the tools they need to stand up for themselves and help them learn to solve problems. With regards to their self-esteem problems, Parents are the number one supporter that will boost their self-esteem and bring back their positive outlook in life.
This alternative may be useful nowadays for teens that experience a lack of self-esteem. It is a big opportunity for the youths nowadays to talk to their parents and cherish the moment with their family now that we still face serious health problems.
Opening up to your friends rather than your family because you feel ashamed when you talk to your family.
Besides your family and loved ones, friends also could be the prime changer of your self-confidence. According to the study of (Holberton and Gibbs 2013), there are about 84% out of 100 % of teens engage with their friends rather than their family. One possible reason is that children feel ashamed whenever they talked to their parents.
Friendships are often underrated, considering the tremendous impact it has on our well being. Early childhood friendship is something that is frequently overlooked as a positive developmental influence. We don't always realize how attached young children are to their friends. Recent research shows the importance of friendship and its impact on mental and physical health. Adulthood friendships are helpful in developing social and emotional skills, increasing a sense of belonging, and decreasing stress.
Talking with your friends is the same as talking to your parents. They are also helpful in giving advice to us. But this alternative might not be useful because of the pandemic. Many factors highlighted why this is somewhat not applicable but we may all know that pandemic is already enough that we can say no talk to friends first, or else otherwise.
To ignore and lessen the use of social media in order to build up your self-esteem.
Ignoring the use of social media might be difficult but to lessen its use is quite possible for some youths. Nowadays, teenagers are more prevalent in using technology primarily on social media. They are widely known as a generation with technology because they are now equipped with what we so-called online technologies.
Sanitioso, Kunda, and Fong (1990) had concluded that lessening the use of social media could be the way for their students to focus on themselves and build up their self-esteem. More so, to stop or mitigate the use of social media helps you also to prevent mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety. Many research has showcased their study that whenever people took much time in facing their laptops, or any social media it causes severe mental health issues that may cause early death.
This alternative may also be the most possible solution to this problem. To lessen the use of social media could higher your self-esteem.
Go to the Church and pray.
One way to ensure that our teens feel secure and like they belong in their family is to give them time to pray. In relying on our faith, we can bolster our teens' sense of purpose by letting them know that no matter life's challenges, God's plan is always to prosper our children and give them hope and future (Jeremiah 29:11) and that God promises that whoever believes on Jesus "shall not perish but have eternal life" in heaven. (John 3;16)
To eat fruits and vegetables to keep you healthy also accompanying it with exercise.
A healthy social life, a healthy diet, and how you talk about yourself can counter the negative influences - and boost your self-confidence and bosy image. To help a positive body image:
- Surround yourself with family and friends who are diverse, positive, happy, and make you feel good.
- Engage with people in real life rather than spending hours on social media, where unrealistic body ideals are prevalent.
- Follow a healthy eating plan and exercise regularly. For some teens with a poor body image, healthy lifestyle changes can quickly spiral out of control, leading to an eating disorder or too much exercise, which can be dangerous. So, see your health care provider for guidance, which may include a recommendation to work with a nutrionist and fitness professional.
PROPOSED SOLUTION
Feelings of low self-esteem often build up over a lifetime, a letting go of ingrained feelings and behaviors is not an easy task. It may take time, hard work, and it may require professional counseling. But there are some simple, positive thinking techniques that can be used to help improve self-esteem. These are called affirmations. Using affirmations to stop negative self-talk is a simple, positive way to help increase self-esteem. Affirmations are encouraging messages we can give ourselves every day until they become part of our feelings and beliefs. Affirmations work best when a person is relaxed. But since people are often upset when they are giving themselves negative self-messages, they may need to counter negative messages with positive ones.
For example, replace the message "I made a stupid mistake, and I am no good at this job," with " Yes, I made a mistake but I have learned from it, and now I can have a better job." Begin each day by looking in the mirror and giving you a positive self-image:
The following affirmations can help you to work toward a positive self-image:
- I respect myself and others
- I am lovable and likable
- I am confident, and it shows
- I care about myself
- I accept myself just as I am
- I look great
- Life is good, and I like being a part of it.
RECOMMENDATION
- Parents should keep a check on their children. They should observe the effects of these sites on their children accordingly limit the time their children spend on such social networking sites.
- Teens should be taken to workshops and awareness programs where they should be guided about self-esteem, self-recognition, self-actualization, and self-confidence.
- Parents and teachers should raise the morale of students and make them more confident in their conduct.
- Campaigns must be held to raise awareness in people regarding the negative repercussions of social networking sites.
Survey Test Result
(Part I)
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| Question No. #1 (Part I) "I feel that I'm a person of worth, at least on an equal par with others" |
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| Question No. #2 (Part I) "I feel that I have a number of good qualities" |
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| Question No. #3 (Part I) "All in all, I am inclined to feel that I'm a failure." |
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| Question No. #4 (Part I) "I am able to do things as well as most people." |
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| Question No. #5 (Part I) "I feel I do not have much to be proud of." |
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| Question No. #6 (Part I) "I take a positive attitude toward myself." |
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| Question No. #7 (Part I) "On the whole, I am satisfied with myself." |
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| Question No. #8 (Part I) "I wish I could have more respect for myself." |
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| Question No. #9 (Part I) "I certainly feel useless at times." |
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| Question No. #10 (Part I) "At times I think I am no good at all." |
Self-Esteem Survey Test Result
(Part II)
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| Question No. #1 (Part II) "How often do you post something (picture, status, etc.) on social media?" |
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| Question No. #2 (Part II) "How many hours do you spend on social media each day?" |
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| Question No. #3 (Part II) "What is the greatest number of "friends" or "followers" you have on one of your social media accounts?" |
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| Question No. #4 (Part II) "How many social media accounts do you have?" |
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| Question No. #5 (Part II) "If you post something on social media, how often do you check to see how many "likes" or "retweets" you get?" |
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| Question No. #6 (Part II) "How much time (in minutes) do you spend editing a picture before you post it on social media?" |
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| Question No. #7 (Part II) "If you post a picture of yourself on social media, how many pictures do you take before you post it?" |
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| Question No. #8 (Part II) "On a scale of 1 to 5, how much does it bother you if you do not get as many "likes" or "retweets" as you expected to receive on a post?" |
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| Question No. #9 (Part II) "About how long (in minutes) do you wait to see how many "likes" or "retweets" you receive after you post something on social media?" |
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| Question No. #10 (Part II) "In the past week, how many negative comments on social media have you received?" |
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| Question No. #11 (Part II) "In the past week, how many positive comments on social media have you received?" |
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| Question No. #12 (Part II) "The last selfie you posed, how many "likes" did you receive?" |
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| Question No. #13 (Part II) "How many "likes" do you usually receive on your selfie?" |
Self-Esteem Survey Test Result
(Part III)
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| Question No. #1 (Part III) "Whenever I feel ashamed of myself I always come to my parents and talk to them about what I feel." |
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| Question No. #2 (Part III) "I used to talk and open up my feelings to my friends rather than my family when it comes to the issue of myself feeling lonely and lost of self-esteem." |
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| Question No. #7 (Part III) "For the betterment of my self-esteem, it would be nice if I eat fruits and vegetables and have exercise every day." |
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REFERENCES
Alblooshi, A. (2015). Self-Esteem Levels & Selfies: The Relationship between SelfEsteem Levels and the Number of Selfies People Take and Post, and the Uses and Gratifications of Taking and Posting Selfies (Master's thesis, Middle Tennessee State University, 2015) (pp. 1-64). Ann Arbor: ProQuest LLC.
Anschutz, D. J., Strien, T. V., & Engels, R. C. (2008). Exposure to slim images in mass media: Television commercials as reminders of restriction in restrained eaters. Health Psychology, 27(4), 401-408. doi:10.1037/0278-6133.27.4.401
Ahern, A. L., Bennett, K. M., Kelly, M., & Hetherington, M. M. (2011). A Qualitative Exploration of Young Women's Attitudes towards the Thin Ideal. Journal of Health Psychology, 16(1), 70-79. doi:10.1177/1359105310367690
Brausch, A. M., & Gutierrez, P. M. (2009). The Role of Body Image and Disordered Eating as Risk Factors for Depression and Suicidal Ideation in Adolescents. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 39(1), 58-71. doi:10.1521/suli.2009.39.1.58
Benowitz-Fredericks, C. A., Garcia, K., Massey, M., Vasagar, B., & Borzekowski, D. L. (2012). Body Image, Eating Disorders, and the Relationship to Adolescent Media Use. Pediatric The Clinics, 693-704. Retrieved October 20, 2016, from ClinicalKey.
Błachnio, A., Przepiorka, A., & Pantic, I. (2016). Association between Facebook addiction, self-esteem and life satisfaction: A cross-sectional study. Computers in Human Behavior, 55, 701-705. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2015.10.026
Blease, C. R. (2015). Too Many ‘Friends,’ Too Few ‘Likes’? Evolutionary Psychology and ‘Facebook Depression’. Review of General Psychology, 19(1), 1-13. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
Body Image Medical Definition. (n.d.). Retrieved October 20, 2016, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/body%20image
Brown, A., & Dittmar, H. (2005). Think “Thin” and Feel Bad: The Role of Appearance Schema Activation, Attention Level, and Thin-Ideal Internalization For Young Women’s Responses to Ultra-Thin Media Ideals. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 24(8), 1088-1113. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.rowan.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com
Clay, D., Vignoles, V. L., & Dittmar, H. (2005). Body Image and Self-Esteem Among Adolescent Girls: Testing the Influence of Sociocultural Factors. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 15(4), 451-477. doi:10.1111/j.1532-7795.2005.00107.x
Diefenbach, S., & Christoforakos, L. (2017). The Selfie Paradox: Nobody Seems to Like Them Yet Everyone Has Reasons to Take Them. An Exploration of Psychological Functions of Selfies in Self-Presentation. Frontiers in Psychology, 08. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00007
Dittmar, H., Halliwell, E., & Stirling, E. (2009). Understanding the Impact of Thin Media Models on Women’s Body-Focused Affect: The Roles of Thin-Ideal Internalization and Weight-Related Self-Discrepancy Activation in Experimental Exposure Effects. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 28(1), 43-72. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.rowan.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com
Durkin, S. J., Paxton, S. J., & Sorbello, M. (2007). An Integrative Model of the Impact of Exposure to Idealized Female Images on Adolescent Girls’ Body Satisfaction. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 37(5), 1092-1117.
Engeln-Maddox, R., & Miller, S. A. (2008). Talking Back To The Media Ideal: The Development And Validation Of The Critical Processing Of Beauty Images Scale. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 32(2), 159-171. doi:10.1111/j.1471- 6402.2008.00420.x
Gibbs, M. (2010). Media Influence on Body Image Dissatisfaction (Master's thesis, Tennessee State University, 2010) (pp. 1-60). Ann Arbor: ProQuest LLC. Retrieved October 14, 2016, from ProQuest.
Hum, N. J., Chamberlin, P. E., Hambright, B. L., Portwood, A. C., Schat, A. C., & Bevan, J. L. (2011). A picture is worth a thousand words: A content analysis of Facebook profile photographs. Computers in Human Behavior, 27(5), 1828-1833. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2011.04.003
Jelenchick, L. A., Eickhoff, J. C., & Moreno, M. A. (2013). “Facebook Depression?” Social Networking Site Use and Depression in Older Adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 52(1), 128-130. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.05.008
Verplanken, B., & Tangelder, Y. (2011). No Body is perfect: The significance of habitual negative thinking about appearance for body dissatisfaction, eating disorder propensity, self-esteem and snacking. Psychology & Health, 26(6), 685-701. doi:10.1080/08870441003763246
Wallace, K. (2015). Teens spend 9 hours a day using media, report says. Retrieved October 05, 2016, from http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/03/health/teens-tweensmedia-screen-use-report/
Wang, R., Yang, F., & Haigh, M. M. (2015;2016;). Let me take a selfie: Exploring the psychological effects of posting and viewing selfies and groupies on social media. Telematics and Informatics, doi:10.1016/j.tele.2016.07.004
Wright, J., Halse, C., & Levy, G. (2015). Preteen Boys, Body Image, and Eating Disorders. Men and Masculinities, 19(1), 3-21. doi:10.1177/1097184x15575158
Appendix A
Self-Esteem Survey
Directions: Please choose the options for each question that best describes your agreement with each statement.
1. I feel that I'm a person of worth, at least on an equal par with others.
2. I feel that I have a number of good qualities.
3. All in all, I am inclined to feel that I'm a failure.
4. I am able to do things as well as most people.
5. I feel I do not have much to be proud of.
6. I take positive attitude toward myself.
7. On the whole, I am satisfied with myself.
8. I wish I could have more respect for myself.
9. I certainly feel useless at times.
10. At times I think I am no good at all.
Appendix B
Self-Esteem Survey Scoring
Directions: To the best of your knowledge, answer the following questions.
1. How often do you post something (picture, status, etc.) on social media?
2. How many hours do you spend on social media each day?
3. What is the greatest number of "friends" or "followers" you have on one of your social media accounts?
4. How many social media accounts do you have?
5. If you post something on social media, how often do you check to see how many "likes" or "retweets" you get?
6. How much time (in minutes) do you spend editing a picture before you post it on social media?
7. If you post a picture of yourself on social media, how many pictures do you take before you post it?
8. On a scale of 1 to 5, how much does it bother you if you do not get as many "likes" or "retweets" as you expected to receive on a post?
9. About how long (in minutes) do you wait to see how many "likes" or "retweets" you receive after you post something on social media?
10. In the past week, how many negative comments on social media have you received?
11. In the past week, how many positive comments on social media have you received?
12. The last selfie you posted, how many "likes" did you receive?
13. How many "likes" do you usually receive on your selfie?
Appendix B
Self-Esteem Survey Scoring
Directions: Please choose the options for each question that best describes your agreement with each statement.
1. Whenever I feel ashamed of myself I always come to my parents and talk to them about what I feel.
2. I used to talk and open up my feelings to my friends rather than my family when it comes to the issue of myself feeling lonely and lost of self-esteem.
3. It is better to approach both my family and friends with regard to this issue of revaluing my self-esteem.
4. It is better to consult a psychiatrist and whenever I feel discontented with my body posture and everything.
5. It is much better for me to ignore and lessen the use of Social Media in order to build up my self-esteem.
6. Whenever I encounter posts on Social Media that will trigger my self-esteem to be influenced by it, my best solution is to go to the Church and pray.
7. For the betterment of my self-esteem it would be nice if I eat fruits and vegetables and have exercise every day.
8. It is best to commit suicide because I feel that I am a person with no value.
9. I will report to the police those posts which I think hurt my feelings.
10. I will just sit down and relax because I don't even bother what they post online.
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