--- title: 3 Questions to Know If Facebook Is Messing With Your Self-Esteem description: If you notice your habits are leading to way too much negativity, try a digital detox canonical: https://time.com/3984523/facebook-self-esteem/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-11T14:08:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:58:17.260Z article:section: Health og:title: Is Facebook Messing With Your Self-Esteem? og:description: If your habits are leading to too much negativity, try a digital detox og:url: https://time.com/3984523/facebook-self-esteem/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1b46c1035ce89cc0/69885ddee53abae4864deec1/woman-using-computer.jpg?branch=production&width=507&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 507 og:image:height: 285 og:image:alt: woman-using-computer og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Is Facebook Messing With Your Self-Esteem? twitter:description: If your habits are leading to too much negativity, try a digital detox twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1b46c1035ce89cc0/69885ddee53abae4864deec1/woman-using-computer.jpg?branch=production&width=507&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Is Facebook Messing With Your Self-Esteem? > Sponsored content. 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Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=b834da59-7327-4ff9-aec9-57a1b981c4af&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: How Social Media Can Tank Your Career [Watch (HLS stream): How Social Media Can Tank Your Career](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ZetPsIZy.m3u8) (4:12)  _Published 2015-03-11. Social media sites like Twitter and Facebook can be a powerful way to build your brand or destroy it._ by [Jacqueline Andriakos / Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Jacqueline Andriakos / Health.com Contributor Aug 11, 2015 2:08 PM UTC  Woman typing as the sun sets behind her. Woman typing as the sun sets behind her. Getty Images by [Jacqueline Andriakos / Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Jacqueline Andriakos / Health.com Contributor Aug 11, 2015 2:08 PM UTC The [great social media and mental health debate](http://www.health.com/health/article/0,,20411676,00.html) continues, thanks to a recent study that looked at young women’s use of Facebook and their risk for [risky dieting](http://news.health.com/2015/07/27/does-facebook-lead-young-women-to-dangerous-diets/). Turns out, it may have less to do with how much time one spends online, and more to do with _how_ a woman uses social media. After surveying 128 college-aged women, the researchers, writing in the August issue of the _Journal of Adolescent Health_, found that highly active Facebook users were more likely to engage in [unhealthy weight-loss behaviors](http://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X%2815%2900214-1/abstract)—like binging and purging or using weight-loss pills— but only if they used Facebook to compare themselves to others. As long as women were _not_ using Facebook for comparisons, being more emotionally invested in the site was actually associated with less concern about body image and fewer risky dieting behaviors. “It’s sort of this double-edged sword,” lead study author Stephanie Zerwas, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, explained to _Health_. “If you’re using \[Facebook\] as a measuring stick to compare your body to everyone else’s bodies online, that’s really risky and also associated with a lot of disordered eating. But if you’re only using it to build a social network with the people around you, that can actually be productive by decreasing loneliness and creating relationships.” Confusing things, however, is the fact that you may not pick up on how your own habits of scrutinizing photos of yourself and your pals are harmful, Zerwas says. “Girls in the study described feeling appearance-related concerns after being tagged in other peoples’ photos and they didn’t always feel like they wanted certain pictures out there,” she says. “They admitted to untagging themselves or asking a friend to take a picture down, or instead commenting with things like, ‘I look so fat in that picture.’” So how exactly do you know if your web habits could be costing you confidence? Zerwas recommends giving yourself a reality check with the following questions. **Am I posting this photo to share or compare?** Showing off a well-lit, nicely angled bikini photo in the hopes of collecting positive comments may come with different expectations than, say, posting a moment from your little sister’s graduation, she says. “Really think carefully about what sorts of pictures you’re posting online,” Zerwas adds. “Are you just posting selfies or are you sharing special moments in your life? Those things can be very different.” **What motivates me to like someone else’s picture?** “One of the things that I encourage students to do is to really consider why _they_ like a photograph. Do you like a photo because your friend looks skinny in it? Or, do you like it just because it’s an expression of affection for your friend?” Zerwas says. “Understanding your own behavior may help put into perspective and interpret the online behavior of others.” **Do I walk away from Facebook feeling sad, anxious, or jealous?** “It can be easy to get sort of sucked into that feeling of, ‘Oh my gosh, look at all these other people who have perfect lives and look great all of the time,’” she says. “I think sometimes people forget that’s just a carefully curated part of someone’s life—and anyone can pick and choose to share in that way.” **What to do with your answers** If you notice your habits are leading to way too much negativity, try a [digital detox](http://news.health.com/2014/08/01/5-things-i-learned-when-i-quit-facebook/). “I think that’s one strategy if you find that you really can’t restructure how you’re thinking about or engaging with social media,” Zerwas says. “It’s okay to stop and walk away from it.” And if you’re worried about someone close to you, talk to them. Zerwas’ advice: “You can ask if there is anything going on that is making them fixate on comparisons and body image. Getting to the emotional issues that are under the surface of asking for reassurance can help short-circuit that negative talk.” [_This article originally appeared on Health.com_](http://news.health.com/2015/07/31/facebook-body-image-study-unversity-north-carolina/?xid=time) _More from Health.com:_ * [12 Ways We Sabotage Our Mental Health](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20694928,00.html?xid=time) * [12 Surprising Causes of Depression](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20515167,00.html?xid=time) * [10 Things You Should Never Do When You’re Angry](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20805851,00.html?xid=time) ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] Welcome to Millennial Money Minute. My name is Taylor Tepper. And I'm Kara Brandeisky. And today we are talking about whether or not social media is the worst for your career. I think it's pretty terrible. I mean, basically I have to use Twitter and Facebook a lot because I'm a journalist and I need to build. Build up sources and I need to build of my brand. And that's sort of what's expected now of converged journalists. But it seems like people get into trouble all the time for jokes and comments that they think are innocuous, but they're actually offensive and kind of racist. And. [ MUSIC ] I'm terrified that eventually I will say something that is sort of off color or I'll make a joke that is not taken the way I meant it to be taken and my career will sort of go down hill and I will, and it will cause me a lot of problems, just because I wanted to spout out what? Some sort of. You know, joke that wasn't actually very funny. Why am I wrong? Why am I crazy to have this sort of fear? I mean I think it's pretty simple. You know, just don't be stupid before you tweet something. You know, think. Would I say this to my boss? Would I say this to my mom? And if the answer is no then you know maybe, maybe rethink that. And there's just so much good that comes from social media. You know you can just connect with people you normally wouldn't. you wouldn't be able to talk to. You can follow interesting people who have an interesting perspective on things. You can sort of join the conversation in your field, and that's all very positive, but you just have to remember, I mean, there's a reason why journalists have editors, and when you're self- publishing, you also have to be your own editor. Yeah, no, that's a fair point. But I feel like if you're just gonna be editing yourself the whole time, you're gonna come off kind of milquetoast, you're gonna come off kind of boring, you're gonna come off kind of not interesting, and it seems as if the people who have the biggest audience, who have the biggest brand, who have the most following, are people who are not. Boring and people who are interesting. So how, like, how do I do that? How do I become interesting, but not boring, but not say stuff that's offensive? Like what is like, what's, I feel like eventually I will slip. I just don't think that's true, you know. I just don't, I don't think that being offensive is the best way to gain followers. I don't think being offensive is interesting. Stain. I don't like following people who are just kind of obnoxious and provoking other people all the time. You know, I wanna follow people who are experts. I wanna follow people who have an interesting take on the news of the day. People who will break news and I just wanna be one of those kinds of people and that's not boring at all. No I agree and I don't want to be offensive the whole time either. [ LAUGH ] But, but and I agree with you also like you know it's really cool that I can like chat at. John Wall and that I can join in conversation about basketball and like wether or not this trade or that trade was good or not and I get instant analysis and that's all pretty cool but, it just kinda seems that the, the, the world your describing which I guess exists now seems exhausting like I have a full time job everyone you know people have full time jobs. People have wives, people have husbands, people have families. And it seems pretty terrible that I now am expected to work all day and also have a social media presence that is interesting but not offensive. And that just seems like a lot more of a burden to carry than I would have done. Time before all this stuff exploded. I mean, I think you're right, that it is exhausting, and there is a problem if you're trying to, you know, do your day to day job, and then go home at night, and like, build a personal brand. I think. They gets better to you know do the work and that have your work speaks for itself and have that communication on social media be part of the work that you do. It's obviously not that easy but. Yeah. I think that there's a lot of good and that you should be afraid. Right, and just don't be stupid. And don't be, don't be stupid. Don't be, that's, that's the take away. Don't be stupid, America. Until next time. 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