The Effect of Self-Esteem

Self-esteem: it can be nothing at all, or everything for people. But, really, self-esteem is just how we look at ourselves, but our opinion of ourselves seems to be manipulated by every person we know. With social media and cyberbullying affecting people’s self-esteem, the parts of ourselves that we like can become dark and unfulfilling, and lead people down dark roads.

All forms of bullying have been major topics in news and in classrooms nationwide, and low self-esteem is just one of the things that come from being bullied. When people say, “You're ugly,” or “ No one likes you,” it starts to create emotional damage. Bullying usually hurts someone and can lower self-esteem. In a 2002 APA (American Psychological Association) study published online, of the 600 college freshmen they studied, 65-70 percent of the women based their self-esteem on appearance.

Also a majority of people today have some sort of social media account, and social media is an easy highway for cyberbullying. A study done by the University of Salford in Manchester, England showed that 50 percent of the people they studied said social media made their lives worse in terms of anxiety and self-esteem, while 20 out of 23 Chicago State College students said social media added extra stress and anxiety.

There can be major problems and side effects to low self-esteem. People with low self-esteem can feel alone, and nobody likes or cares about them.

But there are ways to fight low self-esteem. Help people you know before they can start causing harm to themselves and others around them, or before they do something that they cannot easily fix.

The Child Mind Institute study on teen and social media says if you give people with a low self-esteem positive feedback, just one or two compliments a day can change things for them.

Express your care and concern. If you tell them that they are important, then they may start to believe it. Encourage them to take part in activities. If they participate in after school clubs or sports with you, it may make them happier to be there.

Listen to them. If you hear them express what they are going through, you may be more able to help them with their self esteem problems.

Low self-esteem affects over half of teens in the world, but by helping people and following the steps, we can help people with self esteem. If you would like to find out more then you can visit these sites below.

http://www.childmind.org/en/posts/articles/2013-11-26-self-esteem-and-anxiety-digital-age

http://www.apa.org/monitor/dec02/selfesteem.aspx?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000618

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