In the contemporary world, social media has a crucial impact on youth. For most people from a different generation, the need to post a new selfie or the idea of ‘checking in’ may seem strange, but for modern teenagers online communication through ‘likes’ and comments provides establishment of their self-esteem as well as acceptance in the community. Nevertheless, virtual life forces youngsters to compare themselves with other people’s photos online, which, in turn, provokes the development of negative thoughts and dissatisfaction. Thus, due to the constant use of social media websites and applications, young people are more likely to make friends online rather than establish real-life relationships. At the same time, social media has a destructive effect on the body image of youngsters, especially young girls, who evaluate their appearance in accordance to the edited photos of popular people they follow on Instagram or Snapchat. Moreover, as social media networks offer an improved version of reality, they influence youngsters’ self-determination. In this respect, certain measures should be taken in order to reduce adverse effects of social media on the development of young people. Therefore, being an integral part of teenagers life, social media negatively affects their self-esteem, promoting anxiety, depression, loneliness, and deterioration of relationships in real life.
Instagram and its effects