Each morning, an average 80% of Americans check their phone within the first 15 minutes of waking up, and then continue to spend around one hour and 40 minutes on social media daily. Social media is a great way to stay connected and share the moments of one’s life, but it also has a very large psychological impact on a person’s perspective of themselves and the way that they perceive the world around them.

On the internet, users have the availability to display whatever persona they would like. A study by psychologists show that a person’s internet identity hardly ever matches the way that they are in real life.

Junior Dillon Jules says, “I feel like everything you see on the internet, you have to take with a grain of salt; not everything there is real. People aren’t always what they seem to be.”

There is a seemingly constant pressure on users to display the best image of themselves, whether it is for personal satisfaction or taking into account the risk of universities and jobs actively searching people online; some institutions use social media as a tool for investingating who they’re considering for a new position. 

Sophomore Essence Velazquez says, “Socially, you want to be perceived as pretty.When I was 13, I edited myself so people would think I’m pretty.”

With access to social media and editing applications like Instagram, VSCO and many others, the user has the capability to choose how they would like to present an image and what platform they would like to post it on. Social media is rapidly growing and a recent study has shown that people who use social media frequently are more prone to develop feelings of inadequacy and sadness. Social media is not always as it seems to be; one’s actual life could be completely different than what is displayed online. This can be seen as a positive and a negative aspect on a person’s self image.

Social media is not just limited to the individual users. Often times, jobs, schools and other important institutions will search for people online. This could affect the decisions made on behalf of a person, such as those of employment, of acceptance etc. Psychologists say that they are able to identify a person’s personality just by their Facebook page. 

In a world where social media usage is rampant, the pressure to fit a certain image may feel very strong, particularly among young people. It is important to know the value of one’s true image and the value of moments that do not have to be posted on social media to be proven as worthy.