The Fear of Social Interaction and Low Self-Esteem

    This blog will discuss the matters of those who struggle with social interaction or anxiety as well as low self-esteem. Both situations relate to each other and are seeking out the same thing; the attention from the virtual world.

Those who struggle with social interaction in the real world are more likely to become addicted to social media because they are more reliant on the social networking sites to fill their needs to interact without face-to-face contact.  They are using a computer to hide behind the fact they are scared to talk to people in the real world. They seek out relationships online even if they are complete strangers because this gives them the relationships they don’t have in the real world.

"We have also found that people who are anxious and socially insecure use Facebook more than those with lower scores on those traits, probably because those who are anxious find it easier to communicate via social media than face-to-face," says Andreassen.

   These types of individuals usually struggle with low self-esteem and use social media as a boost of confidence.  Those suffering from self-esteem are more likely to turn to social media because it is a way to escape from their feelings and are more likely to form addictions due to their highly addictive personalities and the availability of social networking sites. Veronica Pamoukaghlian, a blogger on brain blogger, quotes that

“…it has been noted that there may be a correlation between low self-esteem and a sense of social inadequacy and social network addiction. It seems that many types of social interaction which would present great challenges in the real world for certain types of individuals have been rendered much easier for them in the virtual world, thus putting them at a higher risk of becoming addicted to Facebook and the like.”
 

These types of people may also look to sites in which they can posts pictures of themselves to seek out approval to gain self-assurance. A quote from Mentally Fine says that “…those who just feel as if their lives are awful can use Facebook to rant and rave in order to have people tell them how wonderful their life is."  The problem with this is that they are becoming reliant on the virtual relationships rather than real life relationships that they may be losing in the process. Social media addictions are serious and should be dealt with right away because it may turn into something more serious and can affect more than just the addict.

 

 

- Kristie M

 

References

http://brainblogger.com/2011/01/07/social-network-addiction-a-scientific-no-mans-land/

http://mentallyfine.com/whos-at-risk-of-facebook-addiction-disorder/

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CCcQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Falcoholrehab.com%2Falcohol-rehab%2Faddiction-and-low-self-esteem%2F&ei=o0mhUJPgBYTvygHW8IDABA&usg=AFQjCNG_ga9ojgxU16DsLkr7viWTkB1_Lg&sig2=jbspp0UuwgNc5BhaoALpxw

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/245251.php