We’ve all seen the articles and studies proclaiming that social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are are doing more harm than good when it comes to confidence and body image. But is that the whole story? InStyle doesn’t think so, and they conducted a study to back it up.
InStyle studied 1,000 women between the ages of 18 – 49 to get a little insight into how social media really makes us feel. The results may be surprising, as they indicate that social media strengthens relationships between women, with brands, and, perhaps the most interesting finding, with yourself. Here’s the breakdown:
- 80% of women surveyed said that getting a “like” on a post or image feels like a compliment. Additionally, 82% said getting these social compliments improves their self-esteem.
- The majority of women found that when they got a social media compliment, they were driven to spread the love and post compliments on the feeds of others. 75% found that social media has strengthened their personal relationships, particularly with other women.
On the flip side, it seems we are our own worst critics. The study finds that a lot of energy goes into making ourselves social media-ready: 66% untag unflattering photos, 62% reapply makeup prior to taking photos, and 85% admit to being very discriminating in what photos of themselves they post.
If you’d like to know more about the study’s findings, read the full article here.