Does Social Media Foster Insecurity?




We claim that our purpose in using social media is for networking, connections and keeping up with the Jones’s. However, there is an underlying suppression of insecurities that the digital world causes. Whether this is implicit or explicit, people tend to naturally compare their lives with others. There are times where I purposefully compare myself to others, and times that I catch myself in the middle of creating a comparison in my head. When these thoughts enter my head I am putting myself down, lowering my self-esteem and fostering insecurity.

Other subjects of insecurities caused my social media involve intimate relationships and cyber bullying. The result of these insecurities can lead to terrifying mental, emotional and physical health problems.

The Royal Society of Public Health conducted a survey of around 1,500 people between the ages of 16 and 24 to better understand insecurities created by social media. Here are some interesting statistics on the topic:


  • Rates of anxiety and depression have increased by 70% in the past 25 years
  • 7 out of 10 younger people experience cyber bullying 
  • Instagram is the worst social media network for self-esteem 
  • Comparisons lead to people being 2.6x more likely to develop an eating disorder 

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