Is it possible to be an introverted teenager in the Reels era? The peer pressure can be exacting, but the desire to be a content creator is undeniable, even if it takes a lot out of a shy person.
Is there room for different kinds of personalities in the social media age? What compromises and tweaks in personality traits are necessary to navigate this landscape?
Everyone has different personalities; introversion and extroversion are two broad personality traits. Introverts are more likely to be quiet, reserved, shy, withdrawn, and deep thinkers, whereas extroverts tend to be more outgoing, socially confident , talkative, enthusiastic, and energetic.
Being an introvert and having to open up about your feelings is a significant challenge, both in real and social life. It becomes an even bigger problem if you’re part of the GenZ, which has grown up with smartphones, the internet, and social media as part of their childhood. I am not the only one facing this problem, as many people try to step outside their comfort zones just to fit in.
Social media has both negative and positive impacts on introverts. While it helps a lot in connecting with people and reducing the feeling of loneliness, on the other hand, just posting on Instagram takes a lot of courage and causes lots of anxiety and stress. Writing hateful comments, making fun, and judging someone based on their physical appearance are becoming normalised on social media, adding to the pressure introverts have to face.
I remember back in 2018 when I started using social media. I posted a very basic picture of myself, and my schoolmates used to write comments like ‘remove the filter,’ ‘why don’t you look like this in school,’ ‘why are you wearing makeup,’ which made me insecure about posting on social media. It sent me right back into my shell.
Even though I just post some basic pictures with just me smiling, going out with my friends, with the same pose in every one of them, I still have several negative thoughts in my mind, like what if people don’t like my content, what if people judge me, write hateful comments, comment on my physical appearance. These thoughts can create much anxiety. Being a teenager is difficult enough, but the added factors can make it very stressful.
I myself think a lot before posting anything on Instagram or Facebook, but to keep up with people around me, I post Reels and follow the trend. After a day of hanging out with my friends, I see my friends posting a lot of stories, but I tend to post a maximum of two or three stories because I think, what if people will get annoyed or irritated with the same pictures or too many pictures?
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Dangers of being on social media
Comparison is one of the most consequential risks that we introverts face on social media. We start to compare ourselves and our lives with those of others regularly, leading to feelings of insecurity and inferiority complex, especially for those already dealing with self-doubt. People with self-doubt feel nervous and anxious before posting anything on any social media platforms.
I see my friends post a lot of different types of Reels like ‘get ready with me,’ ‘a day in my life,’ ‘outfits of the week,’ I also want to post things like those and even film the whole video or photos, but the moment I think of posting them, my introverted self takes over, and I never post them. Something stops me, fills me with under-confidence.
One more challenge is that introverts highly value their privacy and personal space, while social media is a kind of threat to privacy and personal information. Platforms like Instagram and Facebook are likely to collect various personal information like search histories, location, search queries, which can easily be used to target, manipulate, and track users.
People start messaging privately, sending friend requests repeatedly even after their requests are declined, and they make fake IDs using your photo or name. When I was in 8th grade, I had no idea about social media, and I found out there was an account on Instagram with my name pretending to be me.
Sharing important information like this is very uncomfortable, as introverts are vulnerable to unwanted attention, stalking, or harassment, which afterwards develops feelings of mistrust, anxiety, and stress.
Whenever I try to express or talk about these difficulties I face on social media as an introvert, everyone has the same response: ‘make a private account or keep your account private.’
However, this is not the solution. Social media is a platform where people can show their lives, express their feelings, and speak up for themselves freely. There are also introverts who want to be content creators, want to post about their lives, share their feelings with people, connect with others, but they simply can’t because normalising disrespectful behaviour and supporting it has led people to feel insecure and scared to post anything on social media.
So, what is the way out for introverts? Let’s be less judgmental; that will make introverts come out more often. We deserve our day in the sun too.
Views are personal.
(Edited by Prashant)