Does Social Media Define Who We Are?

By Carelyn Tiburcio on June 24, 2016

We live in a world where posting pictures is literally everything. We take over 50 selfies, in hopes to find the one that’s going to be posted. Our recently deleted album is full of the rejected ones that just don’t make the break.

Once we post, the amount of likes we get is crucial in determining where we are on the popularity scale. Getting a good amount of likes can boost our self-esteem. This type of social approval makes us feel good about ourselves, but that feeling is only temporary. We’ll forget about it within the next hour or so. But, if we don’t get the amount of likes that we want, we end up questioning our looks.

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We live in a world where likes and followers are literally everything. Not having a certain amount of followers can make us feel down.

Take a step back and reread that last paragraph. That is how far social media has affected us.

Our generation is so caught up on what others think about us on social platforms. It’s as if other people’s opinions define who we are. If we receive many pleasing comments under a selfie, we tend to believe that other people like and approve of us. But, if we don’t get what we expect, it tends to drag us down and makes us feel low and inferior.

We look through media on a daily basis and many times, we see the same things. There are many social media models with thousands or millions of followers and we praise them. Many of us want to be like them because everyone seems to like them (or their photos). In reality, these social media models get paid to advertise certain brands and to post on a regular basis. There are also numerous techniques that allow them to look the way they are. There’s Photoshop, professional photographers, great editing skills, filters, and so much more.

Former social media model, Essena O’Neill, gave an inside look on what it was like to be a part of that world. The Instagram celebrity quit using the majority of her social media platforms. O’Neill explains how being a social media model was literally killing her. She changed the captions on numerous Instagram posts to speak the truth behind her photos. Some captions describe how she would take numerous shots in hopes to look skinny and perfect.

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O’Neill believes that letting people and numbers determine your looks is wrong. She describes herself as healthy and free after letting go of social media. She encourages others with the similar problem to stop comparing themselves to others online and to let go of social media.

I am a victim of falling into this induced belief. The amount of likes that I received on a post determined where I was on the popularity scale. If I did not get as much likes as I expected, I would begin to question my looks. I began to doubt my hair, my body and so much more about myself.

But similar to Essena O’Neill, I realized that social approval didn’t mean anything. Why let other people define who I am?

It is crucial for people to not fall into this trap. Social media was not intended to become an unhealthy part of our lives We should use social media to share nice photos, brilliant ideas, to connect with others, and so much more. Of course, it is normal to post pictures of yourself, but don’t let the amount of likes determine anything about you. The only person who should determine how magnificent you are is you.

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