Social media continues to affect the minds of young adults

Ever since we created our first accounts, we have fallen victim to the complex world of social media. Platforms such as Instagram and TikTok were created in hopes to share fun content with others, but has sharing gone too far?

Domo’s Data Never Sleeps 5.0 study revealed that in 2017, Instagram users posted 46,740 times every minute. At that rate, just imagine how many posts are made within a day or a week.

It’s great to see the faces of our distant family members and old friends from high school on our feeds, but what about when we see influencers boasting about their latest clothing hauls and workout results? The question is: does this hurt our perception of ourselves?

High-profile celebrities such as Kim Kardashian heavily influence today’s young adults, whilst promoting an unrealistic body type and extreme dieting. Earlier this May, the social media star chatted with Vogue after the Met Gala, ultimately revealing that she lost 16 pounds within three weeks to fit into her gown.

Over the years, many influencers have also come under fire for heavily editing their photos, continuing to promote an unrealistic beauty standard.

“Scrolling through Instagram, TikTok, or even Snapchat, you kind of lose the fact that people edit their pictures. Even celebrities who claim they use no filter, makeup, or plastic surgery can be a little discouraging to me because I wish I was half as pretty as them.” revealed one student.

“Even as a male, I definitely feel that social media has affected my self image.. It has also affected my self confidence because I feel too ugly to approach people and socialize with them.” mentioned another.

If you want to try and make social media a happy place again, there are a few things you can do, such as cleansing your feeds. To start, go through the accounts you follow and remove anything that makes you feel unhappy. We are all beautiful and unique in our own ways, so don’t let social media stop you from seeing that for yourself.