How Many Likes for a Perfect Life?

March 20, 2019

In this editorial, I explore the negative impacts of social media and its effect on mental health.

Over the last ten years, social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram have proved to be increasingly popular. With over 4.021 billion users–greater than half the total world population–the number of internet users increases yearly by 7%. With a vast majority of our society present on social media, these platforms have a major influence on societal ideals and can push many beliefs onto impressionable users.

This increase in usage among young adults creates platforms for people to present certain aspects of their lives that others may find desirable. Users flaunt the seemingly positive aspects of their lives while hiding the struggles that every person deals with.

While social media platforms may help people form connections and keep in touch with old friends and family, they have also proven to have negative aspects. According to the Computers In Human Behavior journal, there is a linear association between the number of social media platforms an individual uses and an increase in depression and anxiety. With 90% of young adults in the U.S. active on social media, a majority of these users spend an average of 2 hours a day on various social platforms. 

 The problem with this is that these platforms often create the illusion of influencers and celebrities having perfect lives that are unattainable to everyday people. Scanning through the feeds of celebrities–whether they be reality stars or rappers–pictures of designer clothes, sports cars, multimillion-dollar mansions, and exoctic travel locations on private jets make up a huge portion of social platforms.

Through these posts that are shoved into the faces of social media users, normalization of such extravagance causes people to feel badly about themselves because they believe they are missing out on a lifestyle that is unrealistic for the average person. 

Social isolation and feeling left out, whether it be from social gatherings or exotic vacations, is not the only problem. Especially prevalent among teens, social media can negatively impact self esteem. Instagram feeds are showered with pictures of beautiful models that can poorly alter the body image of young people. These users compare themselves to models which makes them believe that these certain body types are societal ideals, which in turn leads to eating disorders and body dysmorphia.

“It is well documented that excessive social media use can be correlated with decreased self-image and other mental health issues,” stated Doctor Vikram Mookerjee. “This may lead to unrealistic body image goals, which can have downstream effects of eating disorders and seeking excessive cosmetic surgery to fix these self-proclaimed imperfections.”

In a study conducted on the effects of media in elementary school girls, 69% stated that what they saw in the media influenced their concept of an ideal body, while 47% stated that it made them want to lose weight. The girls in the study were 6 to 13 years old, proving that the media alters body ideals at an extremely young and impressionable age, which oftentimes leads to eating disorders and body dysmorphia.

In May 2017, Instagram model Alexis Ren opened up about her struggles with eating disorders. After her modeling agency voiced their opinion on her apparent weight gain, Alexis felt “out of control” and started obsessively exercising and restricting her diet in response to the demands of what she believed her body should look like for her millions of followers.

“Looking up to girls for [inspiration] is a beautiful thing, but comparing yourself is what creates the anxiety and self-hatred,” said Ren, according to Cosmopolitan. 

Fortunately, Ren sought help when she realized that her eating disorder was not only affecting her health, but was taking over her life. Citing young fans that idolized her as the main factor, Ren started practicing healthy eating habits she wanted her followers to look up to. Opening up about her own body image struggles helped people realize that even beautiful women considered “perfect” had their own insecurities.

Large presences on social media, such as celebrities and influencers, should follow in Ren’s footsteps in order to combat the rise in body dysmorphia and mental illnesses caused by social media. Transparency about daily struggles and conversation about how the lives of the rich and famous are not the norm would erase the illusion of certain people having better lives than others. 

Social media users also need to realize that their friends and acquaintances only post about things they would want others to see, while hiding the struggles and negative experiences every person goes through. Through this, the pressures of having a seemingly perfect life are lessened and people will realize that hardships are not uncommon. 

Although it may be impossible to reverse the negative effects the internet has had on mental illness and body image, future generations of social media users can become more educated and aware of the fact that what they see on social media is unattainable and unrealistic.