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Social networking: Pill for self esteem?

Posted on 12/13/11 by User_image_bgAmreen K Shaikh

User_image_bg Amreen K Shaikh View Profile
Member since 13 December 2011
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  • 2 Comments

I sometimes wonder, why would a 13 year old teenager be so worried about how her profile picture on a famous social networking site (SnS) looked? Not going very far, and asking my teenage cousin the reason about this unreasonable trend, I got the answer. She said "It's because it makes you feel good about yourself, and the number of comments make you popular amongst your peers". To be frank, I was not very surprised. But still questioned myself, 'Why would feeling good about yourself depend on something foolish like that.' Sad but true, SnS these days play a vital role in one's self esteem. If your pictures, or status updates go unnoticed, it hampers self esteem in a way. It's a reason to worry, if incidents like these effect your child's thought process in a negative way. Being dependent on SnS and beng victims of peer pressure to feel good about one's self hampers the individual's mental state. In the long run repeated incidents like these can also lead to depression, and other mental problems.

Go ahead! Make your child feel good about themselves, by letting them know that there is nothing wrong in being themselves and that they don't need any SnS and comments from others to judge them.

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Comments

  • Dexter

    on 12/13/11, by Dexter:

    u know i have been wondering if these SnS do a brief background check on whoever signs on to the network?It's high time they start to run these checks and ensure that children cannot lie to them about their age to do negative things that can go a long way to hamper their growth and development.

  • on 12/14/11, by Amreen K Shaikh:

    I don't think they do a background check, if they would, then we wouldn't have cases like these.

  • on 12/14/11, by jkcarillo:

    Doing a background check would be troublesome. Just imagine the number or people - adults, teenagers, etc. logging onto one site and creating their own profiles. The world will have no distinction of privacy. A lot of people create a profile and do not put their original birthdays and etc. as they do not see the importance. Instead they create their profile to be able to get in contact with their loved one who aren't with them. The case about online self image is everywhere. Suicides and depressions were there even before internet or social networking sites came about. It all depends on who uses it. In the past the fastest transmitting form of information is by word of mouth - now its the internet or Blackberry messengers (face it, it is happening). Even parents and kids do not speak as much to each other compared to in the past. As traditional bullying has gone out of fashion, now it's gone to cyber bullying. Yes it is much worse as when someone tries to comment on anything online, they aren't afraid to say it compared to as in real life. Facebook also has taken a step to change all these incidents also. Facebook launches tool to report suicidal behaviors - http://t.co/hH7sK5pj

  • on 12/15/11, by Amreen K Shaikh:

    I agree doing a background check is not feasible! But children need to be taught the proper ways of facilitating their self esteem. I also agree that depression and suicides existed before SnS trends too. But the generation needs to be taught the pro's and cons of it.
  • Dexter

    on 12/15/11, by Dexter:

    Again i am thinking that instead of allowing the children access these 'high' SnS why not they the SnS create a child-freindly network where children can go on to and interact with one another sharing ideas and learning classroom work online.With this i am convinced we would have a 'spoilt brat' free generation.

  • on 12/23/11, by Silvana Ribeiro:

    I guess, not only teenagers feel like that. Adults also need the peers' comment and attetnions to feel loved. I'd call "adultescents", 'cause lots of grown ups behave like teenagers and it is worse 'cause it shows how the human being, at least some of them, need to be themselves and not what they would like to be. We are unique and this is important, no matter how many "Friends" we have. I call them "contacts", and among these contacts I do have some friends.
  • Ashley Wong

    on 01/26/12, by Ashley Wong:

    I agree that SnS make up a big part of a person's self-esteem. Kids and adults, both want to be acknowledged and noticed. They want to make sure their statuses are being read and their picture are being "liked." They want that self-satisfaction, that "Wow, these people do care about what I look like and what I say." But not only can it help raise a kid's self-esteem, it can immediately bring one down as well. Cyber bullying is increasing everywhere and becoming more and more of a problem. Even if it was meant to be a harmless comment, you can still hurt someone. And all of those harmless comments can eventually add up and become a problem. I feel like SnS are becoming more and more of problem in our society. Younger and younger kids are getting them, and if you don't have one you don't fit in with everyone. And I agree with the last comment you said, about letting a kid know that there is nothing wrong being themselves. I feel like that isn't said enough and kids are just following the crowd and trying to fit in.
  • Brianna Rosales

    on 01/26/12, by Brianna Rosales:

    I agree that teenagers feel that they need their peers' approval, but I don't agree that it's just with SnS. It's everywhere! I'm a senior in high school and people are constantly craving attention. Whether it's the clothes they wear or how they act, they will always be needing someone's approval to feel wanted or liked or whatever. The "victims of peer pressure" thought is very interesting to me because I never really thought about how Facebook, Twitter, etc. could allow kids to give-in to peer pressure. I personally don't care about how many people like my pictures anymore, but I definitely used to (when I first started high school). Now I feel that I use it more to share pictures with friends. However, I also never use my Facebook nearly as much anymore. I probably log on like two times a week. But I definitely do agree that Facebook and other SnS are other ways that teenagers can hurt their self-esteems and even give-in to peer pressure.
  • Background-Checks

    on 03/23/12, by Background-Checks:

    It would nearly impossible to perform background checks online without some type of official paper documentation that would match an online profile to who they really are. Nowadays, anyone can steal or fabricate an identity. Just think about the logistics of Facebook having all of their members send in a photocpy of their license. Even that could be faked. Best advice, don't trust no one you've met online.

  • in the not-too-distant future, by a New User: