Nothing ages worse than the Facebook post you made 16 years ago. While those posts or photos may have been trendy or show how you were feeling at the time, more often than not, you’re likely going to cringe or even feel shame when revisiting the memory.
As it turns out, the twinge of shame from regretting a social media post is common. According to a 2015 YouGov survey, 57 percent of Americans report regret over a post or text they’ve made on social media, with 16 percent regretting a post as often as once a week. In a more recent study, researchers gathered data from nearly 7,000 adolescent school children in Ontario, Canada. They determined that heavy social media use, in general, was linked to lower self-esteem, and posting regret contributed to that lower self-esteem.
While these studies may be pointing to a more immediate form of regret — some of these cringe posts have been brewing over the course of more than a decade as you evolved and (hopefully) matured. Amelia Knott, a psychotherapist specializing in the mental health impacts of social media, notes that this type of shame is common, too.
“[You’re] looking back at it and realizing, ‘Oh my goodness, this is what I wanted to say loudly about myself in public? This is what I was proud of?’” says Knott.
Social Media Addiction Adds to the Feeling