The average daily social media user has low to very low self esteem

[Complexion]

Agree or disagree? If so, why?

I'll add some spice to the mix, backayard style and say the majority of them are also painfully aware of this but would rather die than admit it because that would mean having to accept a lot of bitter truths about themselves and why those notifications call to them like the pipe did Pookie...

 

[Crude]

A lot of people's self worth is contingent on other people's opinion of them. This applicable to men and women.

Social media is given a lot of people that wouldn't otherwise have a platform the ability to portray a certain image that sometimes isn't a true representation of who they are as a person.

I've seen many people that are highly relevant on social media that I didn't previously know and then I later met them in person and they couldn't even look me in the eye and many also lacked the same charisma they displayed from behind the keyboard.

 

[Doobie Doo]

Ok, any stats or examples to back this up OP? Cuz people do use social media to network and make money

 

[Neuromancer]

Ok, any stats or examples to back this up OP? Cuz people do use social media to network and make money

Yeah I was expecting an article not an op-ed.

 

[Barlow]

If you use the coli daily you have no room to judge

 

[Complexion]

Ok, any stats or examples to back this up OP? Cuz people do use social media to network and make money

Yeah I was expecting an article not an op-ed.

No articles, just a thought I wanted to share with the Coli but a quick search pulled up this which says my intuition was correct:

The results suggest that individuals with low self-esteem are especially interested in social comparison, and this personality characteristic is related to a greater amount of time spent on Facebook, motivated by the search for information about others. Especially for females, but also for males, the tendency to make social comparisons is associated with the use of Facebook for simulating a different self-image from reality: people high in social comparison have a strong interest in what others feel and think, and this concern may lead them to simulate their online image. For females, the use of Facebook for social interaction seems to be related to different needs. Young women with a positive self-evaluation use Facebook as an additional means to maintain their social network, whereas girls with a high tendency to social comparison, determined by low self-esteem, express themselves on Facebook, to improve their self-evaluation.

Self-Esteem, Social Comparison, and Facebook Use

Highlights nicely how its a tool and the intent of the user is the key. In that sense its like the difference between a social drinker who can take it or leave it and a high functioning addict that needs a regular dose just to maintain normalcy.

If you use the coli daily you have no room to judge

Excellent idea. I'm going to log out of here right now. No more posting. No lurks. Will be back next Wednesday to share my thoughts on the experience as this is one of the few places I use regularly.

Everyone reading is welcome to try the same thing and see what you learn about yourself because one thing I assure is that you'll suddenly find a heck of a lot of free time to do with as you wish...

 

[Macallik86]

 

[Complexion]

I'm going to log out of here right now. No more posting. No lurks. Will be back next Wednesday to share my thoughts on the experience as this is one of the few places I use regularly...

Back on the block, 168 hours later which were spent entirely Coli free. Here's what I see:

If you could bag the feeling this site gives and sell it in grams you'd be rich overnight. Its probably the last place left on the net thats real (even though loads of the posters aren't strangers to the hind end of a duck) in the sense that you can call it how it is and people aren't marching to the beat of a PC drum with rainbows shooting out of their eyes and hate in their hearts.

The strangest thing about the net is its been homogenized and forums have huge groupthink in which there are unwritten but universally accepted rules on what is cool and what isn't, what can be said and what isn't expressed. The Coli is way freer in that sense because everyone kicks their own ballistics and handles the consequences so in that sense is like a proving ground for individual thought.

Its also ludicrously entertaining as the humor is something else, def realized that a lot of artists - famous or not - must lurk here for inspiration because the place is literally overflowing with unrealized talent. I'll speak on the Smiley phenomenon at some point as that came to mind as the evolution of language because such a simple image can convey so much, even more when remixed and that is sheer genius.

In the real world I suddenly found I had a lot more time to do things I'd been putting off because those quick 5, 10, 15 minutes every now and then really add up overall. Notifications been turned off since the jump so I wasn't missing anything like that but mainly the vibe.

Shine on you crazy diamonds.

I'd recommend anyone wondering about it to give it a spin, even if its just for 3 days to gain a better insight into your mind and how you spend your time.



Will be back at some point with some more info on the link between self esteem and social media use as I looked into that and its an amazing topic because the platform holders are aware of and actively leveraging this to ensure they capture and retain the most market share so stop and think:

By feeding social media your attention you are giving away what is priceless in exchange for a quick, cheap high that needs a constant redose.

By definition you mustn't know your worth - and therefore think you're worthless - if that is how your spend your days because its not a fair exchange, more like robbery with willing victims.

 

[mamba]

A lot of people's self worth is contingent on other people's opinion of them. This applicable to men and women.

Social media is given a lot of people that wouldn't otherwise have a platform the ability to portray a certain image that sometimes isn't a true representation of who they are as a person.

I've seen many people that are highly relevant on social media that I didn't previously know and then I later met them in person and they couldn't even look me in the eye and many also lacked the same charisma they displayed from behind the keyboard.

I've met many people like that. They seem engaging and extroverted on social media. In person, they are dull, shy and boring.

 

[Complexion]

I've met many people like that. They seem engaging and extroverted on social media. In person, they are dull, shy and boring.

Its why socials are so alluring for some people as its like a movie:

You don't see the takes that get left on the cutting room floor, just the best shots, edited, polished and presented in a continuous sequence like their life is really like that not to mention cutting and pasting other peoples words to make them seem like they've got depth.

Social media very often is the life people would like to lead versus the one they actually have which is why you see them popping bottles in the club on Friday but not siting in the house with no lights on in a coat on Sunday...

The kids that are around 16 now and coming up are going to have sky high levels of depression and other maladies due to their chronic use of socials and totally distorted perceptions of reality/expectations not to mention the de-validation of self and their own desires/likes by choosing instead to go with options that will generate the most buzz/acceptance online. Its like self imposed digital gaslighting.