How Social Media carves our identity

Social Media gives us platforms to express ourselves, but do we really express our true self? This question has hovered in and around discussions for years now, yet it always seems left unanswered. Is this because we are afraid to expose our true selves or is it something entirely different?

We share photos of ourselves on nights out, with family perhaps, having a good time. However, we don't share that side of us when the party is over. This is an issue, an unsolvable issue. We create this façade of ourselves, a completely new person for our online life. This is then viewed by a fanbase, followers and friends. Most people wake up and check on their phones. Whether that is merely checking notifications, or perhaps scrolling through Social Media. We will do this throughout the day as well. At lunch, on a break, in our free time. Its a routine. While we are scrolling through Instagram or TikTok, we create expectations for ourselves in our minds. We construct the platforms, but the platforms construct us.

This video demonstrates this idea and how we compare ourselves to others:

Personally, I think Social Media instigates a lot of the problems surrounding self identity today. Platforms such as Instagram and Tiktok especially contribute to the problems. I feel that how we perceive ourselves can become warped because of what we see online. We act oblivious towards the idea that people compare themselves to one another, yet we do it ourselves all of the time. Comparing to one another can lead to serious mental health issues, and the majority of it comes from Social Media. We compare ourselves to unrealistic images of what we believe we should look like. Unfortunately, this leads to dissatisfaction with our appearance and self-perception.

However, some would argue that its good for people to have a platform to post that different side of them. This is because they feel as though being online is a safe place for them to show themselves. Perhaps, this is because they can filter out what they do not want people to see. While it may feel fulfilling for the person who is posting it, it may leave someone viewing it questioning, for example, why they look a different way. We view this idea in the video above. A woman posts a picture of herself in bed, yet she filters out the 'bad'. The 'bad' being waking up and looking how anyone would having just woken up. Instead, she puts concealer on and makes her hair look as though it is 'acceptable' to post online. These are the posts that make people feel those insecure thoughts about themselves.

So whether you view these platforms as toxic environments, or a perfect ensemble of freedom and expression, It is clear that Social Media plays a huge part in who we are today and who we aspire to be tomorrow, however, this unwavering fact leaves us questioning the difference between expectations and reality.