Think About It
Think of how you like being perceived. Think of how many likes your Instagram post gets. Better yet, think of TikTok. The app where most people try to go viral on. TikTok is most likely the worst app for long screen times. The quick scroll feature causes a dopamine rush, and most people think what they watch doesn’t matter. But everything you consume while scrolling is internalized even unknowingly. So every fitness trend you see or a famous influencer who looks nothing like you, you’ll eventually be thinking of what you can do to be more likable like those posts. A false persona is created as a result. “false self-presentation on social media: lying behaviors and liking behaviors. Lying behaviors involve sharing untruthful status updates or creating deceptive profiles to present a fabricated version of oneself.” (Nor et al., 2025). This is from a journal on false self-presentation and comparison with social media. This journal outlines many different things, but the quote I included is one of two behaviors mentioned from studies conducted. When you prioritize other’s opinions it completely changes how you view yourself. Which is the point of us speaking about the effect of social media on self-perception. But let’s not forget that pushing yourself to be better and more healthy for the same reasons can be a good thing as well. Seeing positivity on your feed will also make you more positive as a result. Surrounding yourself with the energy you wish to have.
On that positive note. We have the idea of self-branding as well. And I would like to remind you of the saying of “Fake it until you make it.” Self-branding is very interconnected with this idea. You have to make yourself an image on different platforms that all together show who you are. But if you also portray how you wish to be then you will become it or get there. The Decision Lab says, “The concept is quite simple: act how you want others to perceive you and, over time, you will come to see yourself that way. Easy to understand and exceedingly optimistic, the fake it approach is at best a homespun panacea for self-doubt, and at worst a clever placebo, winking at a deeper truth.” (Lewis, 2017). Like mentioned faking it can be like a placebo. But if you act how you want to be seen then you build your brand that way. When people prioritize their brand, they also focus on themselves and improvement. Faking is not always bad. You can fake things like using edits or fake photos, but you can also fake concentration that becomes real. It is hard to define “being” something, but being something means doing the actions related to it. So if you are acting a certain way then really you are being a certain way. Take on whatever persona will make you a better version of yourself if that is what you need to do.
I cast no judgement. I cast no opinions. I only want to shine light on how social media has been effecting people’s idea of themselves as well as their own self-branding. Social media is like the moon. It can be beautiful and mysterious and have it’s own gravitational pull. But you have to be careful to not be pulled into complete darkness. I hope if one thing can be taken from this blog, then it is the reminder that you have the control over your own life and thoughts. And there are resources for anyone struggling with mental health because of social media.
You can visit this site for help: https://www.cdc.gov/mental-health/caring/index.html
References:
Lewis, A. (2017, July 16). I Think I Am, Therefore I Am: Org Behavior Perspective | TDL - The Decision Lab. The Decision Lab. https://thedecisionlab.com/insights/business/organizational-behavior-perspective
Nor, N. F. M., Iqbal, N., & Azianura Hani Shaari. (2025). The Role of False Self-Presentation and Social Comparison in Excessive Social Media Use. Behavioral Sciences, 15(5), 675–675. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15050675