Determining one’s value was never a matter so tied to other’s opinion as it is today. Back in the days, personality, wisdom, and ideology were the main factors that contributed to it- unfortunately the emergence of Social Networking Services(SNS) changed everything. The number of ‘likes’ on SNS, such as Facebook or Instagram, is now ‘pricing’ one’s value, especially for teenagers. The COVID-19 crisis pushed this issue into overdrive as it drastically increased screen time and SNS usage.
SNS facilitates teenagers to share their thoughts and see others’ comments on their posts, so most teenagers use SNS to contact or communicate with peers. However, they are also receiving negative comments on their posts or selfies from the nickname ‘anonymous user’. Because adolescents are sensitive to their reputation, being exposed to this kind of comment on SNS could make them feel inferior to other people on SNS.
Most of my friends are spending about 1 hours per day photoshopping their selfies; and what they get is some simple comments about their appearance and random malicious comments. This is shown in the survey of Pew Research Center: 39% of American teenagers felt “pressure to post content that will be popular and get lots of comments or likes”, and 21% felt worse about their life because of what they see from SNS. If this is the case, who is the one getting likes? Is it me or my fabricated ‘Facebook ego’?
The fact that ‘real ego’ is threatened by the ‘SNS ego’ is what should be focused on in today’s society. While ego is an emotion or thought associated with a sense of ‘I’, the primary purpose of SNS often works as a counterforce in the formation of ‘real ego’ as millions of teenage SNS users are easily inclined to follow the perspective of what it’s considered as society's norm. Posts dominated with the ‘like’ button would stand as the subject of admiration, and teenage users would be more likely to be vulnerable in maintaining their own autonomy, independent of outer volition.
More than just losing autonomy, teenagers start to take bold actions to gain popularity and prove their value among SNS users. “Licking toilet seat challenge”, also known as “Coronavirus challenge”, is a decent example that reflects this social trend. Out of the expectation, this unsanitary challenge received many ‘likes’ among the teenage SNS users and soon stood as the act of admiration. As such, SNS are dominating over social responsibility for some teenagers.
Still, with SNS becoming a major part of teenager’s lives, there are some advantageous aspects that we can benefit from. Communication systems, such as Facebook messenger, and millions of posts across the world allow teenagers to experience the diverse cultures and perspectives. As Dr. Michael Rich claims that “technology isn’t the problem, we’re the problem”, utilizing SNS wisely while acknowledging the potential harms will possibly solve the problem. Remember, the ‘like’ button does not represent who you are. Don’t let your ‘SNS ego’ replace yourself!
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