Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UIC chapter.

While social media has been out and flourishing for the past 10+ years, conversations around self-esteem, beauty standards, and confidence have been constant. Many girls, including me, have experienced feelings of inadequacy and have often compared ourselves to the influencers on social media, especially Instagram. It is sometimes hard to remember our own exceptional beauty when faced with images of the ‘perfect’ girls on social media.

woman using a camera
Photo by ATC Comm Photo from Pexels

However, it is important to note that we all look different for a reason, and all of our features are beautiful. Therefore, we must find ways to build a healthy relationship with social media. While social media is a tool, it can be detrimental to one’s mental state, if certain boundaries are not made. These boundaries can look like:

  1. Setting social media time limits on your phone (for example, 10 minutes a day).
  2. Only following people who uplift you, encourage you, and positively impact you.
  3. Decluttering your social media often, based on your needs in that time in your life.

While you can set boundaries with your time on social media, you can also create a self-care practice to check-in with yourself each day before, during or after use. These activities can include:

  1. Listing three things you love about yourself.
  2. Checking in with yourself to see how you feel before and/or after social media consumption.
  3. Taking a moment to reflect on the content you seen and how it resonated with you.
book coffee croissant
Photo by Cathryn Lavery from Unsplash

It is important to remember that social media is only a snapshot of reality. Most influencers will only post the pictures and videos that have been edited with the best views of their day. Many users will not post about their down times, bad days, or when they first rolled out of bed. Do not allow the things you see to dictate the way that you feel about yourself.

Therefore, you are worthy just the way you are. You are worthy with acne and acne scars. You are worthy with eczema. You are worthy no matter your size, height or weight. Remember that social media does not define who you are or your level of worthiness, only you can do that.

Imani is an Applied Psychology major with a desire to become a Child and Adolescent Psychologist. She is passionate about self-care, body positivity, and showing up authentically. She loves to read, write short stories, watch TV, and hang out with friends in her free time.