With many people today, ranging from all ages to all places, all social media platforms are used daily by the billions. However, today more than ever many are questioning how addictive it is and the role that it takes on one’s self-esteem. Through an article written by Kate Fagan about Madison Holleran’s short time at Pennsylvania State University, to an academic article regarding the correlation between social media addictiveness and one’s self-esteem, and a Ted Talk by Cameron Russell, a well-known model, the effects of social media can further be understood. In particular, these articles will be the main points of this analysis in understanding social media’s effects on one’s self-esteem. Now, why do many try to project their best lives on social media?
Kate Fagan, the author of “Split Image,” wrote a beautiful yet tragic editorial on the life on Madison Holleran. Madison was from New Jersey. She loved to run and spend time with her family. For the most part, she was very athletic growing up, from running track to playing tennis and soccer. After graduating high school, Madison was given the opportunity to run for Pennsylvania State University. Fagan describes Madison as “beautiful, talented, [and] successful — very nearly the epitome of what every young girl is supposed to hope she becomes.” However, that’s not how Madison saw herself. She was a perfectionist and a deep thinker. She was well aware of how she presented herself to others and she struggled with how that image made her look and what others thought about her life. Which could, in fact, answer the question in the above paragraph. People try to project their best lives through social media because perfection is what many strive for. And by putting a filter on a photo one can look happier and prettier.
Through Instagram, Madison seemed happy, even to her mom. Her Instagram feed was filled with photos that made one think that she was loving her freshman year of college and running. But even Madison said they were just pictures. “Everyone presents an edited version of life on social media,” Fagan established. People only share their “ideal” life. The life they wish they had or the life they want others to think they have. Madison was caught in a conflict between the perception of life and reality. She knew the life she was projecting was not how she felt but she couldn’t understand that everyone else was also projecting a life they were not living. Madison’s friends from high school had explained to her that they were also struggling. However, their lives on Instagram overthrew the conversations shared with her. In the end, Madison felt trapped. “On the evening of Jan 17… Madison took a running leap off the ninth level of a parking garage” (Fagan).
Fagan portrays the life of Madison beautifully, really giving tribute to her life. She understood the family and friends, incorporating their feelings and love for Madison. She also hit heavily on how social media affects the lives of others. “Checking Instagram is like opening a magazine,” however, ads are branded as a staged photo, “Instagram is passed off as real life” (Fagan). She portrays the stresses of life at college well but forgets to mention how and where to turn for help. Many are going through similar trials, and Fagan passes over the idea that Madison was not alone. There have been many studies and experiments recently completed that have shown that a majority of University students feel as Madison did.
In an academic article titled, “The Relations Among Social media Addiction, Self-Esteem, and Life Satisfaction in University Students,” by Nazir Hawi and Maya Samaha, it is made know that Madison was not alone. Social media has grown tremendously, with an annual average of 10% more users than the prior year. In March of 2016, Instagram had more than 3.5 billion daily likes and 80 million photos shared daily. While Twitter had 310 million active users, Facebook had over 1.09 billion active users daily. There have been many studies over the past decade to try and find a direct correlation between social media and self-esteem. All studies pointed to the fact that those who have an addiction to social media had a lower self-esteem than those that did not.
In this study, there were 364 people, all university students. These students were given the Social Media Addiction Questionnaire and Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale to fill out. The social media addiction questionnaire asked questions like “I often think about social media when I am not using it,” and responses could be reported on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). The Rosenberg’s self-esteem scale had positive and negative questions that could be responded to on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Students that scored higher on their social media addiction questionnaire were also reported to have scored lower levels on the Rosenberg self-esteem scale. This study helped present that “students who use social media… are at risk of lowering their self-esteem” (Hawi and Samaha).
This article demonstrated well the use of social media on one’s self-esteem. Those that were addicted to social media did report having lower self-esteem. Hawi and Samaha tied in other experiments as well, stating that their experiment supports many other findings. They also mentioned raising awareness to this issue because technologies keep growing and “social media will continue to be a major concern.” This raises an awareness that should be addressed by schools and families to help students addicted to social media. However, this article fails to mention the feelings one may have with low self-esteem. Now, because many are addicted to social media, perfection is what they try to share. But many don’t know perfections cost.
Cameron Russell, a well-known model, walks us through her “perfect” job and the questions she is asked daily at a recorded Ted Talk titled, “Looks aren’t everything. Believe me, I’m a model.” Cameron has been a model for about the past 15 years. She has worked for big names such as Louis Vuitton, Calvin Klein, Victoria’s Secret, and many more. Because she is a model she is asked a lot of questions about her profession. The main one being, “Do they retouch all the photos?” “Yes, they retouch all of the photos,” she smirked, “however, that’s just a small part of what they do.” She then projects professional pictures and compares them to photographs taken around the same time by family or friends. The difference is dramatic. She explains that the professional photographs are not her. “They are constructions, and they are constructions by a group of professionals,” she stressed. She wants others to understand, especially those that want to become like what is shown in those pictures, yet that model isn’t even what is shown.
“What is it like to be a model?” Cameron is also asked. She addressed that most are looking for an answer that implies “if you are a little bit skinnier and you have shinier hair, you will be so happy and fabulous.” Many models backstage may comment, “It’s really amazing to travel, and it’s amazing to get to work with creative, inspired, passionate people.” She said that those things are true, but only half the story is told there. What many won’t tell you is that they are insecure. They are insecure because they have to worry about what others are thinking of themselves and how they look all the time. They’re questioning, “if I had thinner thighs and shinier hair, will I be happier?” (Russell). And yet those models do have thin thighs and shiny hair, yet they are not happy and very insecure.
Through the entire Ted Talk Cameron is very honest and open about a world that most do not understand. She depicts the untold life of a model honestly. When mentioning the bad, she also understands she is privileged and grateful for the opportunities she has been given. She brings up the point that the other articles have also, that to others, people project their perfect selves or their ideal lives. When in reality it’s not only damaging others but yourself also. Cameron does fail to mention the effects social media itself has on her or others, but she does through magazines and advertisements. She herself is insecure, but through her work and her vocalization about her trials, she hopes to help others and herself grow.
These three articles were written adequately and can help someone understand what they or someone they know may be going through. Fagan’s editorial is compelling and heartfelt. It helps others understand why and how social media can affect someone. Hawi and Samaha’s academic article articulates the growth and statistics of social media. It also covers the correlation between those that use social media and their self-esteem thoroughly. Lastly, Cameron Russell, throughout her Ted Talk was very sincere and very honest. Helping listeners understand that what they observe is not authentic and what they may think about her profession is not true. However, these articles are missing key points on how and where to find help. Each article lists many reasons social media is a factor of low self-esteem, but when this occurs, where can someone turn for help? In the meantime, Madison’s family wants everyone to realize that “it’s okay to not be okay. It’s okay to show people you’re not okay” (Fagan).
Overall, these articles can help others understand social media’s effects on others self-esteem. Kate Fagan helps us realize that things aren’t always as they seem, hence, the life Madison portrayed on social media was different than how she felt. Cameron’s life through pictures looks fabulous, yet she is insecure. And through the study by Hawi and Samaha, it is evident that those two women were not alone and many also suffer from the use of social media. The next step should be to find ways to help those suffering and help those become more educated about this growing concern.
Works Cited
Fagan, Kate. “Split Image.” ESPN, ESPN Internet Ventures, 7 May 2015,
www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/12833146/instagram-account-university-pennsy
lvania-runner-showed-only-part-story.
Hawi, Nazir S., and Samaha, Maya . “The Relations Among Social Media Addiction,
Self-Esteem, and Life Satisfaction in University Students.” SOCIAL SCIENCE
COMPUTER REVIEW, vol. 35, no. 5, pp. 576–586. EBSCOhost,
doi:10.1177/0894439316660340. Accessed 18 Oct. 2018.
Russell, Cameron. “Looks Aren’t Everything. Believe Me, I’m a Model.” TED: Ideas Worth
Spreading, Oct. 2012,
www.ted.com/talks/cameron_russell_looks_aren_t_everything_believe_me_i_m_a_mo
del?language=en&utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=ted
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