Page 234 - Sanidhya 2025

The Psychological Effects of Social Media

Online Disinhibition, Self-Presentation, and Self-Esteem

Social media has transformed modern Herring and Kapidzic (2015) found that online
communication, reshaping how individuals build self-presentation is often strategic rather than
identity, perceive themselves, and interact with entirely authentic. Users frequently construct an
others. Unlike traditional face-to-face interactions, idealized version of themselves, emphasizing socially
online platforms introduce unique psychological desirable traits. This behavior is reinforced by metrics
dynamics, including altered self-presentation, like likes, comments, and shares, which create
disinhibited behavior, and new forms of social pressure for external validation. This often leads to a
validation. This article explores key psychological discrepancy between a person’s online persona and
processes influenced by social media, focusing on their real-world identity.
online disinhibition, self-presentation strategies, and The nature of self-presentation also varies across
the impact on self-esteem. platforms. Image-focused networks like Instagram
Social Media and Psychological Processes promote meticulously curated visual identities, while
A significant issue is the relationship between social text-based platforms like Twitter and Reddit
media use and social anxiety. Research by Parashar encourage more unfiltered, content-driven
and Waraich (2023) found a strong correlation expression.
between excessive social media use and increased Social Media and Self-Esteem
social anxiety among university students. They Research by Molina Ruiz et al. (2022) found a
discovered that frequent social media use positive correlation between frequent Instagram use
perpetuates avoidance behaviors, making students and body dissatisfaction, driven by appearance-
more hesitant to engage in face-to-face based comparisons. Similarly, Dangi and Singh
communication. These findings validate Social (2025) linked prolonged social media engagement to
Comparison Theory (Festinger, 1954), which states lower self-esteem and body dissatisfaction in young
that people judge themselves by comparing their women.
lives to those of others. Because social media often The interactive nature of these platforms amplifies
presents idealized versions of reality, it can skew these effects through instant feedback mechanisms.
self-perception and lead to low self-esteem. While positive engagement can temporarily boost

Online Disinhibition confidence, the absence of expected validation can
The internet has created an environment where lead to psychological distress. This creates a cycle
people often behave with less restraint than they where self-worth becomes tied to fluctuating digital
would offline—a phenomenon known as the online metrics, potentially fostering feelings of inadequacy
disinhibition effect. Psychologist John Suler (2004) and emotional turbulence when real life doesn’t align
identified several key factors driving this behavior: with the carefully crafted online persona.

Dissociative Anonymity: Users feel
disconnected from their real-world identity,
reducing accountability for their actions.
Invisibility: The absence of nonverbal cues like Mahika Yadav
D/O Sh. Rajesh Yadav, IPS
facial expressions and tone of voice fosters ADG CRPF
impulsive expression.

Asynchronicity: The delay in communication
allows users to express thoughts without
immediate consequences.