A Growing Identity Crisis Due To Media Influence

There is a growing identity crisis with the growth and dependency on social media. When we speak about identity crisis we speak about not being true to ourselves thus losing one’s identity and individuality.

All the media we surround ourselves with makes it harder for us to find ourselves. The first thing we do in the morning and the last thing we do before sleeping is to open our phones and check social media. An overload of information is so highly stimulating that everything else seems dull in comparison. We all want to know what others are doing in their lives, what is ‘trending’, and who is wearing what. When we are so overwhelmed by the lives of other people, by all the picture-perfect models and influencers we start reflecting on our own life and feeling down in the dumps about it. We slowly begin losing ourselves one scroll at a time.

Herd Mentality

As kids, we always wanted to do something because someone else did. Remember our parents telling us, “So what if he did it, if he jumps in the well will you also jump in the well?”. Doing something because someone else is doing it is only because we identify with the feelings associated with it. For example, if he gets a new car we also want a new car because of the prestige we attach to it. We subconsciously want to be admired/envied as we admire/envy the other person.

A herd can also mean a crowd. Being a part of the crowd is a great feeling but losing yourself in the crowd is not. Would you not rather stand out than try and lose your own identity?

Media Standards

We look into the mirror and dislike what we see. We wish to look like the person we see on our phones or the television. The media has set standards over the years and promoted them like it is the norm. Standards on fair skin, long hair,blemish-free skin, and slender bodies being beautiful.

Who decides this? It is somewhere a chicken-egg situation because when the media shows us images of real people with their flaws we dislike it. Somewhere as consumers, we are creating the demand for this facade.

To know what Global Media Journal got to say on this: Click Here

Behind The Scenes

Everyone has a life filled with ups and downs. The difference is no one posts about their downs on social media. Everyone only wants to share the wonderful things about their lives. It makes us envy the other person even if we don’t wish to. This process is extremely sub-conscious which means we don’t even realize this as our brain comprehends and absorbs silently.

The wonderful physique someone has, a present someone else got, the places someone travels to all seem more fancy and enticing than our own lives. We are so busy trying to emulate others, picking bits and imbibing those pieces from everyone that we lose our originality.

Confidence And Self Esteem

Most people lack confidence and a sense of self-esteem. The idea of deriving confidence from wearing a particular brand of eating a particular food is painted in our minds. I’m sure you can think of a lot of such advertisements. It is easier to have your own identity when you’re able to actually understand the kind of content fed to you digitally. It’s tough to find your own identity in all of this clutter. It takes a lot of self-confidence and great self-esteem to retain your individuality when a lot of things become the norm. It is okay if you are lacking it, or going through an identity crisis as it is never too late to make the change. Work on being your true self, the appreciation for being true to yourself, for being a real person will enable you to have your own identity.

Also Read: How Social Media Algorithms indulge in Manipulation

To lessen the impact of an ongoing identity crisis, we must make conscious efforts.

We must educate the younger generation on the usage of social media is extremely important. If we are so influenced, we may all end up looking alike and factory-made. It is important to retain our individuality as it is a gift to the world.

We should make it a practice to count our blessings as there are so many things in our lives to be grateful for. A home, family, friends, food, and many more. The most important one is this gift of life and that we are alive today. What we decide to do with this life depends on us. We have an option of being copies of other people or be our own unique selves.