Is social media making people more insecure about their lives?

[Veronika_p]

Sometimes I sit back and wonder how much social media has changed the way people see themselves and their relationships.

One thing I've noticed is people posting pictures with their partners or family members and asking strangers online if they look good together. And it makes me wonder, when did we start needing the approval of other people to feel good about the people we love? If you're happy with your partner, why does it matter so much whether strangers think you look good together? 💔

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with sharing pictures or wanting a little reassurance. But sometimes I wonder whether people are more concerned about how their relationships look to the public than how those relationships actually feel behind closed doors. Are we choosing partners because we genuinely connect with them, or are looks, money, popularity, and social status becoming more important than love and compatibility?

And relationships aren't the only area where social media seems to affect people.

People compare their bodies to edited pictures and start feeling unattractive. They see someone traveling, buying a house, getting married, or showing off an expensive lifestyle, and suddenly feel like they're failing in life. Someone can be perfectly happy with what they have until they spend an hour scrolling through other people's highlight reels.

Even friendships have become affected. Some people measure how much they're loved by birthday posts, likes, comments, and how often someone shows them off online. Others feel left out when they see friends hanging out without them. People can start questioning their own worth because of things that might mean very little in real life.

Then there's the pressure to look happy all the time. People sometimes feel they must present a beautiful life online even when they're struggling privately. It's almost as if being happy isn't enough anymore 😢😞

[OneViewpoint]

I think social media has a lot of potential for good and bad. But because it's tied to money there is little incentive for these social media platforms to police themselves when a downturn in clicks may cause the ad revenue to shrink and the stock price to tank. So the worst elements of society are allowed to run loose peddling lies about the "perfect" lives of phony influencers with no regard for the harm the do to young people and others with low self confidence.

You could say caveat emptor. Fuck the weaklings on both sides of the Only Fans phenomenon. But as you implied, this stuff is doing harm to society by creating basket cases like Incels and angry fake feminists who buy into internet dogma and end up living in a fantasy world of hate and fear. This is clearly a case where only government can step in to fix any of it. But our government is 25 years behind technology like social media and AI. And frankly we don't seem to care much as a population.

[ohsheeT]

Between social media the news magazines ads on TV radio

It's all the way to belittle you to make you feel down and out so you either buy their products or you act a certain way

Nowadays there's one key ingredient That's you You have to love yourself believe in yourself 100 And not worry what other people think Because it doesn't even matter at the end of the day because they're not in your life

Just smile and be the best you can and know inside your heart who you are and what you're all about and then social media can't touch you

[Melody90]

Absolutely. Social media makes it so easy to compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else's highlight reel. We see their achievements, relationships, travels, and happiness, and sometimes feel like we're falling behind in our own lives. People forget that what they see online is only a fraction of reality. We end up measuring our worth against carefully curated versions of other people's lives, forgetting that our own journey is just as valid.

[lilBigPotato]

Yes absolutely. It's kind everyone needs to show off and get validation. And even if you don't do that yourself, seeing others makes you question yourself.

[Billlewis]

Yes, because it invites comparisons between ourselves and others, many of whom have more than we do, or look, live or vacation better than we do. The worst, most counterproductive emotion of all is jealousy, and that's exactly what social media is designed to provoke. It's often the basis for many other problems today, like tribalism and over the top political opposition, etc. Anger and resentment are much better motivators than happiness and contentment, and people are very easy to manipulate.

[Interstate]

Anybody claiming guilt to this is too wrapped up in what others think, rather than thinking for themself. People who are insecure from social media obviously has insecurity and self-esteem issues that need attention. They need to stop living vicariously through strangers and start thinking for themself and deciding for themself what they like and don't like. And undergoing life improvements from there. A person's opinion of themself comes before other's opinion about them. Not the other way around.

[Staximus]

It’s like a competition- Who’s the most physically fit, the prettiest, the richest, the coolest, who has the best house, car, stupid looking designer clothes, who’s the best this or that, and how you measure up to them. It’s all a bunch of mindless bullshit.

[Veronika_p]

💔😢

[EzraIsShy76028]

This has basically already been proven. A lot and I mean A LOT of people have reported feeling better after quitting social media or at least significantly reducing it. People tend to say Facebook is the worst one but honestly they're all more or less equally bad.

[exitseven]

yes nobody wants everyone to see what a loser that they are so the craft this perfect life on Facebook, showing sailboats, expensive vacations , superbowl trips, and other stuff that makes them look cool.
I compare this to the Christmas letters that people would send that would describe in sickening detail their kid's high school graduation or a new car.

[NathanDavis]

that's one of the main ways to exploit people... it is intended to be that way

[Sevenpointfive]

people need to be led and they lose their leaders after schooling. sometimes you still have some real friends or they disappear and you find them on Facebook. they are just continuing that process. seeking validation from people they trust.

[gasman70]

yes because most people only put the good things that happen in their lives, so it appears everyone is having a great time but you. which is just an illusion, everyone's life basically sucks just as much as yours, just in different ways

[msc545]

I think this is the inevitable result of hyper communication and the ability to literally see almost anybody anywhere if they want you to see them.

[Alex-Snow]

Of course. I grew up with it and I have seen how it has consumed many people's lives. Everyone is following or posting or texting instead of just talking to each other.

[Grond21]

I think the idea that social media is not causing rampant insecurity is crazy. You've laid it out very well how it undermines our sense of self and sense of gratitude for what we have.

[DryGermanGuy]

I wonder, whatever the hell happened to privacy?

[thegreenyogi]

Of course it is. Social media does just that. It's an insecurity trigger.

[DonaldDarko]

If you buy into low IQ social posturing maybe.

[_Jenny_]

@Veronika_p Yes I think you’re correct

[Veronika_p]

Thank you 😊

[jamesgoldman]

Absolutely

It's why I only use mine for business, birthday and direct messaging my friends

[Paige2006]

Yes amoung many other things

[Veronika_p]

Sad 😔

[888theGreat]

Not me. Maybe some people. I don't envy others. I just use it to see what is going on.

[LotharioENERZY]

It make them compare easily that leading everyone to be unhappy.

[sage2021]

Some people gotta keep up with the Jones' !!!

[In_Trance]

Most likely

[Veronika_p]

😢 it's sad

[loveslongnails]

I really don't think so.

[jahaims]

It does for stupid/shallow people

[harryv1234]

Sometimes, sometimes not.

[queenofcardio]

I believe so

[eagle1951]

probably

[Badtobad]

Definitely

[moddy_the_mod]

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