Review of the Literature Technology has made astonishing advances in the past decade and is widely utilized across the nation. A large percentage of the population has access to the Internet at their fingertips, whether it is with smartphones, computers, tablets, or laptops. Along with more access comes more exposure to media, which can have advantages and disadvantages. The media can be very informative with what is happening around the world and can keep one up to date on current events. It may also serve as a source for education for students. On the other hand, media has several downfalls. A main disadvantage of the media, people are vulnerable to body image issues due to idolization of celebrities with perfect bodies and glamorous looks. “Depression and low self-esteem have been consistently linked in social comparison research and low self-concept clarity has been strongly associated with lower levels of self-esteem” (Durkin, Paxton, Sorbello, 2007, pp. 1096). Eating disorders may be a resulting complication due to poor body image as well, stemming from social comparison to incredibly thin models. Social media possesses similar impacts upon people as the media does, including influences on selfesteem, body image, mental health, and eating disorders. According to Polce-Lynch, Myers, Kliewer, & Kilmartin (2000), “self-esteem, which refers to a person’s general sense of worth or acceptance, is recognized for the critical role it plays in mental health and psychopathology” (pp. 226). This knowledge places emphasis in discovering how social media may influence self-esteem due to its overwhelming presence in today’s society. Review of the Literature The creation of social media sites and applications has changed the ways in which people interact, connect, and share with one another. Perhaps children and adolescents are the most affected by these technological advancements. Teens and pre-teens are among the highest consumers of social media. As the number of social media sites and apps increases, children and adolescents increase their usage (Anderson, 2018). So, questions arise regarding social media usage such as can too much time spent on social media impact the way children see themselves? Can social media usage affect a youth’s self-esteem? Social media can be positive and negative. It’s positive for children to use social media as this platform allows them to share interests or posts about their favorite sports, celebrities, artists, and talents with a diverse group of like-minded individuals. However, social media can be negative if children are using social media as a measure of their likability or popularity (Koutamanis, 2015). Parents need to remember that even though technologies are quickly changing, the developmental needs of children remain the same (Orth, 2018). Research has demonstrated an individual’s ability to verbalize a sense of his or her overall worth as a person emerges around the age of 8, which suggests that this time period is very crucial in the development of self-esteem (Orth, 2018). During this stage, children begin to discover their abilities and characteristics and begin their evolution into being known by and identifying with what they have discovered about themselves. Children in mid to late childhood (i.e., ages 8 to 10 years old) are able to understand that success in domains of personal importance promotes high self-esteem, whereas failure in these domains undermines their sense of competence and takes a toll on self-esteem (Orth, 2018). As children emerge into late childhood and early adolescence, parental approval continues to affect self-esteem, but it is not as influential as peer approval (Erol, 2011). During adolescence (i.e., ages 11-19 years old), youth are undergoing the process of identity development, and self-esteem is an important part of this development. During this developmental period, adolescents’ self-esteem is likely to be affected by the feedback they receive online through social media sites (Burrows, 2017). Teens describe social media platforms as a key tool for connecting and maintaining relationships, being creative, and learning more about other cultures and diverse peoples. Clearly, in these ways, social media usage can be a positive experience; however, youth are also exposed to the negative aspects of social media use, such as drama and bullying or feeling pressure to present themselves in a certain way (Anderson, 2018). Furthermore, adolescents tend to over interpret or misjudge the extent to which others are evaluating them, which can lead to a preoccupation with how they look in the eyes of others (Valkenburg, 2016). Positive feedback received online has been shown to enhance self- esteem, and negative feedback has been shown to have the reverse effect (Valkenburg, 2017). Positive impacts on self-esteem can occur through interactions via social media if adolescents feel a sense of connectedness and support, but some experiences online may have a negative impact on self-esteem. The negative impact is not always caused by cyberbullying or a negative comment. When a child does not receive the expected or desired feedback or feels a sense of pressure to “perform” or post content, the right content, for “friends,” this pressure or stress can cause anxiety and will probably negatively affect a child’s self-esteem. Today, parents must find a balance between mitigating the negative risks to their adolescent’s self-esteem that can happen when engaging in social media and allowing their youth to engage on social platforms. Realizing and enforcing this balance can lead to arguments or a parent’s guilt about his or her child being the outcast or “left behind” socially because he or she is not allowed to be on social media constantly. Awareness of how much time your child spends on social media and the level of importance he or she places on social media interactions can be a telling factor into how these interactions are affecting your child’s self-esteem (Brewer, 2015). Social media’s negative effects on children may promote unhealthy behaviors like becoming isolated or irritable or experiencing a drop in grades or loss of interest in activities (Verduyn, 2017). To address these adverse effects and help their child develop social skills, parents could foster a sense of purpose through encouraging their child to engage in volunteering, sports, creative arts, clubs, or other in-person activities. Parents are their children’s first teachers and understanding how to promote your child’s positive online interactions and build your child’s self-esteem can be done by modeling those behaviors. For example, parents may want to carefully consider if they want to post pictures of their child on social media and may want to think about the content of the photos. A “cute” picture of your child taking a bath may be embarrassing to your child. Model ethical behavior, ask permission from your children before posting online pictures or activities that involve them, and teach your children to respect the privacy of others. Review of the Literature The connection between social media and self-esteem is important for higher education professionals to understand. The purpose of this study was to see what impact social media had on the self-esteem of college students. Chapter 1 provided a framework for social media, self-esteem, and its relevance in the lives of college students. This chapter presents a more in-depth summary of the relevant research and literature related to social media, self-esteem, and its impact on college students. The review of this literature defines social media and provides social media usage statistics among collegeaged students. It also examines the literature’s definition of self-esteem and a scale that measures self-esteem. Lastly, this chapter reviews research on how social media impacts a person’s self-esteem. Social Media Students are attending college at a time when social media is prominent and at their fingertips. The increased use of smart phones and social media apps impacts how college students live their daily lives (Barnett & Cothern, 2011). Social media is an ambiguous term Manning (2014) defined as “new forms of media that involve interactive participation” (p. 1158). Other common language related to social media in the literature is “social networking sites” which are described as: web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom 5 they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system. (Boyd & Ellison, 2007, p. 211) Specific social media platforms are incredibly popular among college students. The Pew Research Center surveyed 18- to 24-year-olds on social media usage. The results indicate the rampant usage of social media among college-aged students, finding that 80% of 18- to 24-year-olds use Facebook, 78% use Snapchat, 71% use Instagram, and 45% use Twitter (Smith & Anderson, 2018). These findings are significantly higher than other age groups surveyed by Pew. According to Global Web Index, Gen Z, globally, spends an average of two hours and 41 minutes a day using social media (Chaffey, 2020). A comparison of time spent on social media with other generations is included in Table 1. A high percentage of college students dedicate a significant portion of their day to social media usage.
