Social Media Influencers on Creating Unrealistic Standards

Social Media vs Mainstream Media

Social media has been around for a while now, but it's only recently that it's become so much a part of our lives. It all started with the invention of The World Wide Web in 1991, which used hypertext technology to link the Internet. This was the start of a new way of talking online, with Weblogs, Listservs, and Email services helping people create online communities or support offline groups (Van Dijck, 2013). Then, In the late 90s Blogger, Wikipedia, Myspace, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, Twitter, and other platforms started to provide web tools that offered new ways to communicate online (Van Dijck, 2013).

However, to understand how the advent of social media is more impactful to individuals than mainstream media, it is important to explore the difference between the two. Traditional media is characterized by a one-to-many communication format. This means that the content is produced by a few media outlets and is consumed by a large number of people. Traditional media is typically owned and operated by journalists and media companies such as newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, billboards, etc. Because traditional media is more passive, there are fewer opportunities for audience interaction. Feedback is more likely to come in the form of letters to the editor and viewer polls. In addition to having editorial control over their content, media companies are subject to a variety of regulations and ethical guidelines.

In contrast, social media allows for one-on-one communication, one-on-many, and many-on-many communications. Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok are highly interactive, allowing viewers to like, leave comments, share and engage directly with content creators and other users. While contents on social media are more varied, content standards are set by social media platforms' policies and guidelines.

Due to the difference of communication format, mainstream media often highlight celebrities and people from the top of society while social media is more personal as people seen on social media are regular people. In that sense, people on social media are reachable and more relatable to the audience. As this type of communication format allows to bring creators feel closer to audience, it causes audience to compare themselves to people on social media.

Social Media Creates Standards

In a recent study, it shows that less than 50% of people in the social media sites followers are people they actually know in real life indicating that it is not as important to follow people you actually know (Loeb, 2022). In fact, 50% of millenials think they know who their favorite influencers are on social media more than they know their friends. That means that 7 out of every 10 people trust influencer recommendations almost as much as what their friends say (Loeb, 2022).

While this could be a strange phenomenon, it was proven by a study that engaging in social media resulted in releasing hormones known as oxytocin which is related to when we fall in love, hugging, and doing other socializing activity (Penenberg, 2010). This means that our brain registers our social media activity the same as socializing in real life.

Social media has played a significant role in shaping our perception of reality and the environment around us. To put it another way, social media has helped create the condition known as hyper-reality, a state in which reality is indistinguishable from fiction (Mir, 2023) It's even more concerning considering that social media influencers are flaunting their looks, wealth, and connections as if it's normal for ordinary people to do the same.

One of the biggest ways beauty standards are set is through the abundance of filtered and edited images. Influencers, celebrities, and even ordinary people use photo-editing software and filters to improve their appearance. Social media also features people who follow the conventional beauty norms of society. These influencers and celebrities attract a lot of attention and followers, which encourages others to adopt their lifestyle and imitate them.

The "influencer" culture that's popping up all over social media is just one example of how norms of success and wealth are being set. These influencers post about their luxurious lifestyles, exotic holidays, and expensive products, which draw huge audiences and turn them into symbols of wealth and aspiration. As a result, many people chasing to be rich, famous, and successful while neglecting or omitting all the hard work that went into getting there.

"Couple goals" is another way that social media sets romance standards. Celebrities and social media influencers post a ton of pictures and stories about their own love and romance. It is easy into thinking that their relationship is perfect. People post the best parts of their relationship on social media and these carefully chosen moments don't necessarily reflect the reality of a relationship on a day-to-day basis. This can cause people to have a broken view of what a happy, healthy relationship looks like and make them feel like they're not up to the standard.

The Impact

It is no secret that mental illness has become a huge problem in Indonesia. According to the 2013 data from the Ministry of Health, 6% of adults have mental health issues, like anxiety and mood problems. A study from 2015 said that mental disorders are most common in teens, and that Indonesia's youth make up 15% of the total mental illness burden (Thomas, 2019). While all these figures may not be entirely attributed to social media, it should also be noted that social media usage is extremely high in Indonesia; Indonesia has the 4th largest Facebook user population in the world and the 5th largest Twitter user population. (Thomas, 2019).

Not to mention, according to a recent survey of over 1,000 girls (10-17 years old), 1 in 2 girls believe toxic beauty advice posted on social media is the cause of low self-esteem, and 90% of girls said they follow at least 1 social media account that causes them to feel less beautiful (Dove, 2022).

To sum up, social media's effect on mental health is multifaceted. While it offers many advantages in terms of communicating, connecting, and expressing oneself, it can also have a negative impact on mental health in a variety of ways. The constant comparisons, the cyberbullying, the fear of missing out, the addiction, the body image problems, the social isolation, the sleep issues, and the information overload can all lead to anxiety, depression and a decrease in overall mental health.\

References:

Dove. (2022). Toxic beauty standards on social media: The stats -- Dove. Dove. https://www.dove.com/us/en/stories/campaigns/social-media-and-body-image.html

L Penenberg, A. (2010, July 1). Social Networking Affects Brains Like Falling in Love. fastcompany.com. https://www.fastcompany.com/1659062/social-networking-affects-brains-falling-love

Loeb, W. (2022, February 3). Influencer Impact On Consumers Increasing -- Facebook Has Less Power. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/walterloeb/2022/02/03/influencer-impact-on-consumers-increasing--facebook-has-less-power/?sh=15cd6cd94bad

Mir, A. A. (2023). Hyper-Reality Unleashed: How social media shapes our perception of the world. The Companion. https://thecompanion.in/hyper-reality-unleashed-how-social-media-shapes-our-perception-of-the-world#:~:text=Social%20media%20has%20notably%20contributed,to%20distinguish%20reality%20from%20fiction.

Satu Persen - Indonesian Life School. (2022, May 14). SOSMED TOXIC TAPI CANDU! (Pengaruh media sosial) | Satu Insight episode 9 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zaxye5uqug

The evolution of social media: how did it begin and where could it go next? (2021, March 3). Maryville Online. https://online.maryville.edu/blog/evolution-social-media/