How do social networks affect our self-esteem?

Self-esteem is the set of beliefs and feelings we have towards ourselves., and that is built from the experiences we live and the information we receive, both from the people around us and also from how we value ourselves. that is, how we speak to each other will affect our thoughts and likewise the way in which we will act in the situations that we encounter throughout the day.

• We recommend you read: "Disconnecting from social networks: is it a recommended option?"

What is happening today with social networks?

They have become the medium in which we interact, several hours a day, if not a large part of the day, and therefore this interaction will have an impact on our self-esteem. The impact of social networks can be negative or positive, depending on the way we use them.. If we know how to put them to good use, their impact can be very positive in our lives.

I will describe with some examples, how they are affecting us in a negative way. How many times has it happened to you, that you have not had a good day. You argued with your partner, your boss called you out at work, you lost patience with your children. And at the end of the day, you come home exhausted and decide to enter a social network to distract yourself, and when you do, the first thing you find is a video of a person saying that you have found your dream job, that you just have to propose, and a couple who are on a trip having a romantic dinner and they publish the photo of this.

And then you, after your lousy day, think: I'm doing something wrong because they can have this life and I can't. You start to compare yourself, demotivate yourself and feel less. Another example, the filters that leave us faces without imperfections and these retouched photos. And you want to achieve that body and that face and you will never achieve it no matter how much diet or exercise you do because those bodies and those faces are not real.

It also happens sometimes that we enter a social network and when we realize it, we waste a lot of time looking at a thousand things and we stop doing things that are pending. We had, that begins to generate a great guilt that also negatively influences our self-esteem.

Behind the screens there are people, with different stories, insecurities and ages. In this sense, we must be very careful with adolescents and preadolescents, they are in a critical stage where they are building their self-esteem and their environment influences them more easily. But as I said before, adults also have our insecurities and circumstances and If we are in a delicate moment of life, social networks can affect us in a very negative.

How do they impact our self-esteem?

Being constantly in contact with this "virtual reality" generates a host of negative emotions that are associated with thoughts of the same nature, which guide the behavior of the person in the day by day and can fill her with insecurities, bringing consequences to the self-esteem of the person.

But all is not lost, self-esteem is something that we have learned and that can be modified and improved. We are not born with a certain self-esteem and this remains unchanged over time, no. Our self-esteem varies according to the situations we are facing in life, how others speak to us, that surround us and how we speak to ourselves, and all of the above, is changing throughout the life. This means that we can work on it and improve it every day. Just like we train our body in the gym, we can train our self-esteem too.

Besides, Social networks can also help us improve our self-esteem, in what way? Consuming content that inspires us and helps us to be better. In the following points I explain it better:

• Profile content of people with exemplary and inspiring lives that motivate us to achieve our goals.
• Also content that teaches us something new, that provides us with new knowledge, courses, workshops and so much good information that exists on networks.
• Consume current news content to stay informed or new research in different fields of interest to you.
• Humorous content that distracts you and makes you smile when you've had a bad day.

Delete all those accounts that don't make you feel that way and limit the amount of time you spend in front of screens. Remember that reality is outside of them; share with the people around you, give them priority and put away the mobile phone in those moments. Only you, and no one else, is in control of what you let into your life, it is your responsibility to set limits to what is making you feel unpleasant emotions.