#Social #comparison #Social #Media
Let’s be honest: who doesn’t know such a situation?
It is Sunday afternoon. I’m lying on the couch in sweatpants and watching a romantic movie…probably for the third time this year. With a chocolate bar in one hand and the mobile phone in the other, looking at the ads on various social media pages. After the fifth photo in a bathing suit of a smiling and confident beauty, I start to feel the non-comfort growing inside me.
Her tanned legs, her trained and oiled body, her radiant smile with perfect teeth. While my look in the mirror reveals to me that I was not and will never be so beautiful.
But why does this bother me? I was really happy all day, thinking that I had a perfect day of relaxation.
Why am I so fooled by this content?when I know very well that in fact the pictures generally have ten filters set?
Especially young people, who are still in the development phase, experience a period in which they have to find their own values.
They are generally inspired by their group of colleagues or friends, but increasingly also from Social Media (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat).
The examples to follow play a very important role in the lives of teenagers.Thus, the propagation of such ideal states can become a problem, considering the fact that everything that seems spontaneous is actually staged, and has little to do with reality.
What is social comparison?
According to the theory psychologist Leon Festingerevery human being has the need to improve his own skills and competences (Festinger, 1954).
If we form our visions, aspirations and motivations by orienting ourselves towards others, we use an upward impulse in one direction to compare ourselves with others.
Festinger calls this “social comparison”. In this process, we first compare ourselves with people who seem similar to us. If we look at a person we perceive as inferior, the comparison is “down”.
This can be good for self-esteem and body image, but it can decrease our motivation to change something.
If we choose a comparison person who seems superior in terms of the relevant characteristics, we compare ourselves “up”, having at the same time the desire to improve ourselves. The theory of social comparison also has implications on the impact of mass media, and on the idea that people have about ourselves.
Social media platforms offer material for an upward comparison at any time of the day or night.
Have faith in yourself and what you can do
People present their apparently mundane, but perfectly orchestrated lives, becoming a comparison group for young people. But constant upward comparison is not good for self-image. The more frequently and intensively the youth use Social Media, the more prone they are to dissatisfaction with their own body, to low self-esteem, and over time they even develop depressive symptoms (Sherlock & Wagstaff, 2019).
We must be aware that the “perfect body” does not exist.
If you have a profile on any social media platform, you can upload, in addition to the beautiful vacation photos and gym photos, a realistic, everyday photo.
For me, as a follower, this means: If the look makes me feel stupid for a little while, it’s okay. I know it’s not just me. But I have a choice about who I follow and what examples I look for. And, if I think about it, I definitely have other abilities and a completely different self-concept – which is absolutely fine.
From time to time, put Social Media on pause
Digital information technology clearly affects both physical and mental activity of a person. Factors such as movement, education, self-confidence and social behavior can change. It has been proven that children and young people read fewer books, that their language, so the way they express themselves, is changing.
Another example is empathy. Empathythe ability to be able to understand those around us, to be able to put ourselves in their place and to understand their feelings, is learned in the same way as walking and talking. For this we need direct contact with other people.
However, if children and young people carry out a large part of their social contacts through the smartphone, then they will certainly not know what empathy means.
The consequences affect us all.
Smartphone addiction is a curiosity
I don’t want you to misunderstand me. In everyday life using smartphones can have many advantages. If you already have friends, you can keep in touch through online social networks, just as in the past people used to write letters to each other.
Of course, the biggest advantage is multifunctionality of the device. Besides the fact that it is used as a phone, computer, map, GPS device, calendar, ebook (reader), flashlight, digital music service, clock, data storage device, camera, electronic commerce device, online banking and financial services, it also allows access to social media portals, which connects millions of people from all over the world in real time.
As you can see, in many ways, the online environment makes our lives easier.
But, at the same time, it makes it even more problematic.
Considering the fact that the smartphone can be used as a game console for all types and genres of mobile games, it can easily lead to addiction.
Smartphone addiction is a curiosity. It is completely independent of age groups and is distributed equally, depending on the frequency of use. This means that among young people, where the density of smartphones is higher, there are more addiction problems than among older generations, perhaps less experienced from a technological point of view.
Appreciation and self-confidence are the most important
Other difficulties would be, for example, the lack of user information, the rapid spread of fake news, cyberbullying, entertainment and general carelessness.
You’re probably wondering how to spend more time without a smartphone, without feeling like you’re missing something important. Here are some suggestions:
1. Instead of taking a selfie with the intention of sharing it on social networks, it helps you take a look “inside yourself”. Evaluate your thoughts and feelings. Try to realize that, more important than external recognition, it is appreciation and self-confidence.
2. Deactivate your push messages. Push messages always require attention and disrupt your concentration. In the vast majority of cases, they are of no use to you anyway.
3. Create spaces and moments without your phone. Often it is good for us to focus only on ourselves. For this purpose, it is useful to turn off your mobile phone for a certain period of time or to set the flight mode. Even more so when you have to study or work concentrated.
4. Keep it simple: Applications, which you never use and which only take up space on the home screen, have no place on your smartphone. As little as those that make you accumulate unnecessary tension.
If you use your smartphone rationally and turn it into a supporting device, for example, to exercise more, eat healthier, relax by reading or listening to music, or keep in touch with family members and friends, you can only get benefits.
It is important to maintain a healthy balance between real and virtual life.
I wish that the most beautiful day of your life is everyday!
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