SOCIAL PRESSURES LINKED TO ' FRIENDS & FOLLOWERS '
The whole concept of social media relies on having ' friends ' and ' followers '. ' Friends ' are those who users will share their personal profiles with - It ' s usually a mutual relationship and both parties are able to engage and interact with everything their ' friends ' post online . However , relationships with ' Followers ' is usually more one sided and , depending on the platform , will only allow access to certain aspects of a users profile , such as their content feed . Users often have a desire to gain as many ' friends ' and ' followers ' as possible .
' FRIEND ENVY '
You may compare the number of ' friends ' or ' followers '
you have with others - this can lead to ' friend envy ' in
some cases , especially if this is associated with
popularity , and can make you feel pressured into getting
more friends and followers - even if it means sending
requests to people you don ' t actually know .
Collecting ' fake friends '
You may feel under pressure to increase the number of
' friends ' you have on your profile , and this may mean you
accept or send friend requests to people you don ' t actually
know or complete strangers - this can make you more
vulnerable to online bullies or increase the possibility of
being groomed .
Constant need to please
The more ' followers ', ' friends ' and viewers you have on a
' open door policy '
this means that you have your profiles and accounts set to profile or account , the more pressured you may feel to
produce more content or upload more frequently as you feel public view , meaning that anyone can find them and view them you now have an audience to please or fear that you ' ll lose without needing to be a ' friend ' or ' follower '. It also means followers if you don ' t . This can also mean you desperately complete strangers can follow and try to contact you . overshare personal information or end up posting content
that ' s offensive , inappropriate or misleading .
Feelings of Rejection
When you get new ' friends ' or ' followers ', it can make you feel happy - if you lose them it can make you feel confused and sad , especially if you ' re already feeling
pressured into having lots of ' followers ' already . This can have a negative impact on your personal wellbeing and mental health in the offline world .
Social Media Safety Tips
Turn on Privacy controls
All social media platforms should have privacy controls
that can help protect your account or profile from being
viewed by strangers and prevent people from trying to
contact or interact with you .
Talk about concerns
when you have privacy settings active on your
account , it will usually notify you when someone
you aren ' t friends with tries to contact you . You
can block people who you don ' t know from being
able to interact with your accounts , and if you are
still worried , talk to someone you trust about it . popularity & the reality
You might associate high numbers of
friends and followers with somebody
being very popular - this isn ' t
always the case , especially if these
people don ' t actually know the
person or interact with them . It can
be important to remember that
numbers don ' t tell the full story ,
and to talk to someone if you ' re
feeling pressured to gain a large
number of followers .
Online vs Offline
You should act the way you would online as you would in
real life . If you pretend to be someone you ' re not online , it
can cause you problems in your daily life , This can also
negatively impact your mental health - talk to someone if
you feel pressured or worried .
Friendships offline
social media can sometimes distort your
expectations of friendships and relationships in
real life . It ' s important to remember that building
friendships and speaking to people outside of the
internet is often a better way to build more
trusting and confident relationships .