Self-Perception And Its Societal Influences

As a society, we are constantly perceiving ourselves in a new light.  As a new trend explodes across the world, we adjust our feelings about ourselves based on if we fit the mold provided by the most recent societal standards.  These standards are temporary and ever-changing, and the negative image we create of ourselves often lasts significantly longer than the trend itself.  It is extremely time and mind consuming to constantly try to aim for perfection in a society that credits itself on individuality but truly looks for uniformity.  We are more often than not willing to suffer unknowingly to fuel our desire to fit in and be accepted, while we truly should be looking for that acceptance within ourselves.  

The idea of perception is processed in the Self-Perception Theory, which emphasizes that the “individual is in the same position as an outside observer who must rely upon the external cues of their behavior to infer their own inner characteristics” (Carroll).  This theory plays an important role in how we identify our self-image, which is created through a combination of our perspectives and the outside factors that influence our decisions and judgments.   As a result, we are solely experiencing happiness and success when permitted to do so by our government and the society they run.   Perceptions are constantly changing, hurting us as individuals who let division and competition override what we truly believe.  Our ability to be easily convinced of “truths” found on social media harms us in the long run, creating a completely lost sense of reality.  Societal constructs create our understanding of the world based on our joint assumptions of reality, impacting our perception of ourselves, our peers, and our society as a whole.  While some may believe that our self-image is not skewed by the standards placed by societal constructs, societal expectations play a vital role in the way we see ourselves.  We consistently perceive ourselves in an altered light due to skewed societal standards that are additionally reinforced by pressure enhanced by our peers.   

Some individuals hold the opinion that our perception of ourselves is primarily created by our thoughts and judgments about who we are.  This opinion is carried in the belief that we create our individual outlook on life.  When discussing different successful individuals, the author remarks, “But what did play an important part in their success is the faith they had in their dreams and the persistence to see it through no matter the consequences.  They didn’t let others control their future, they took control” (Nicholson).  Nicholson maintains the belief that those who are perceived as successful all struggled in their own ways, but were able to persevere due to their spirit and consistency.  In addition, some individuals feel that even if societal influences try to take over, personal attitudes can override this.  While the people closest to you will try to share their impressions with you, “These people [in your life] are sending you messages and opinions (some are good and some are bad) but the decision to accept them or not is yours.  Self-esteem is also formed through your successes and failures.  Here too, you have a choice of how to react; you can accept failure and try harder next time or dwell on the fact that a mistake was made and give up” (Guthrie).  Guthrie emphasizes that you can not stop the people who care for you from trying to persuade or alter your actions in some way, but you can control how you respond and move forward.  Although these statements have validity to them, they do not depict the more challenging portion of the story.  It may be possible to attempt to ignore the influences around you, but it can be close to impossible when attempting to maintain relationships and good standings with the people closest to you.  For individuals who are already suffering from self-esteem issues and confident people alike, we are heavily impacted by the people around us and often look for validation within them.  Out of fear of losing these relationships, we often are more willing than we would like to think to change ourselves, completely altering our self-perception and the sources needed to maintain the positive self-image we strive for.  

In the novel 1984 by George Orwell, one topic highlighted was the role of self-image in the characters’ daily lives and the influences that played a part in forming this image.  Perceived societal norms led few in Oceania to dare to step outside of governmental expectations.  Winston addressed that “The horrible thing about the Two Minutes Hate was not that one was obliged to act a part, but that it was impossible to avoid joining in” (14).  Winston was speaking on his own experience, but this was carried throughout the large majority of Party members.  Acts of hate such as these were so painfully powerful and mesmerizing that all self-perception was lost, instead becoming one unit of fear masked by disdain.  As individuals, the Party members were constantly conditioned by the consequences of others, staying silent after witnessing the destruction of other lives.  For instance, “This [diary writing] was not illegal (nothing was illegal since there were no longer any laws), but if detected it was reasonably certain that it would be punished by death, or at least twenty-five years in a forced-labor camp” (6).  Winston was aware that he was never alone in his society surrounded by the Thought Police and telescreens, leading him to completely lose track of his self-perception.  The act of diary writing brought this part of him back for one of the few times in his life, but the perpetual fear placed in his identity by the society he lived in continued to cloud any glimpse of individuality left.  In Oceania, there was a severe lack of proper guidance, where all “role models” focused on loyalty over individuality.  Orwell acknowledged that “On the walls were scarlet banners of the Youth League and the Spies, and a full-sized poster of Big Brother” (21).  From an extremely young age, the children of Party members were aware of the choices they were expected to make in their adulthood.  The children quickly became completely oblivious of previous family connections and loyalty, instead focusing all of their attention on the society they relied on to form their developing self-perception.  Orwell emphasizes his fear of all individuality lost and in a sense, that is the exact problem we are facing over the issue of self-perception in our modern lives. 

In the fight for individuality, personal fears enter the situation and lead us to remain silent from expressing our opinions and our overall sense of self.  How we view ourselves impacts our entire identity.  In other words, “The image we see in the mirror may be a real or distorted view of who we really are...We continually take in information and evaluate ourselves in several areas, such as physical appearance (How do I look?), performance (How am I doing?), and relationships (How important am I?)” (“Positive Self-Image: How To...”).   Although it seems natural that our self-perception would be an accurate view of ourselves, this is often not the case.  We are constantly changing our perception of ourselves based on the externally perceived successes in our lives.  Although individuality is often verbally praised, the questions circulating in our heads leave us in a constant state of doubt in need of reassurance.  Similarly, we influence our negative/positive self-image through certain self-imposed tactics.  “Self-image is important because how we think about ourselves affects how we feel about ourselves and how we interact with others and the world around us.  A positive self-image can boost our physical, mental, social, emotional, and spiritual well-being.  On the other hand, a negative self-image can decrease our satisfaction and ability to function in these areas” (“Positive Self-Image: How To...”).  Self-image plays more of a role than solely how we see ourselves.  How we view ourselves can significantly change how we carry out daily activities, thought processes, and decision making.  This is often a constant struggle for many individuals, and the resulting need to let go is easier said than done.  Furthermore, there are specific motives behind our thoughts and actions.  “Each person has an overall self-concept that might be encapsulated in a short list of overarching characteristics that he or she finds important.  But each person’s self-concept is also influenced by context, meaning we think differently about ourselves depending on the situation we are in” (“Perceiving And Presenting Self”).  Self-concept is fluid as our perception is influenced.  While someone else may admire you for a particular external characteristic, this may be the factor that receives the most self-hatred.  The way we see ourselves builds upon how we assume our peers see us, as well.

The people closest to us, our peers, family members, and educators, significantly impact the way we carry out our lives and consciously/subconsciously decide to represent ourselves.  Our sense of self can often be related to the people we surround ourselves with.  The author recognizes that “For example, you may judge yourself to be more intelligent than your brother or less athletic than your best friend, and these judgments are incorporated into your self-concept.  This process of comparison and evaluation isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it can have negative consequences if our reference group isn’t appropriate...the groups we use for social comparison…” (“Perceiving And Presenting Self”).  Similar to how we see ourselves, our perceptions of others are easy and quick to change.  As a result, endless streams of comparison skew the way we intrinsically were meant to view ourselves.  While peer pressure is not necessarily a conscious act, subliminal messages inserted into our brains can create an internal battle between how we want to view ourselves and the potentially opposing implications created by our peers.  Consequently, there is a strong correlation between peer pressure and its impact on our decisions, as well as our perception of ourselves.  One article states that “Factors like age and personality may influence whether or not we want to fit in or stand out.  Although we compare ourselves to others throughout our lives, adolescent and teen years usually bring new pressure to be similar to or different from particular reference groups.” (Perceiving And Presenting Self”).  While in central developmental years, we rely on the opinions of others to shape how we present ourselves.  This invites the opportunity for skewed perceptions to enter the picture, creating further uncertainty between fiction and reality.  Likewise, those around us can both support and/or harm our overall self-image.  “Feedback that we get from significant others, which includes close family, can lead to positive views of self...Research has also found that communication patterns develop between parents and children that are common to many verbally and physically abusive relationships.  Such patterns have negative effects on a child’s self-efficacy and self-esteem” (“Perceiving And Presenting Self”).  To put it differently, the close relationships we treasure can make or break how we perceive ourselves.  All efforts of a search for individuality or growth can be clouded by past remarks made that lead us to question ourselves and whether or not we are good enough.  Being surrounded by harmful behavior such as abuse heavily adds to this struggle, forming fears that the individual can not trust their judgment or perception of the people they once trusted.  As a result, the people we surround ourselves with influence the severity and category of societal perceptions on our self-image and wellbeing.  

Finally, the arguably largest factor in our self-perception is the way we visualize ourselves within society via the media.  Social media outlets such as Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and Facebook heavily influence our self-esteem.  Kanouzi remarked that “Self- esteem involves a variety of beliefs about oneself such as appraisal of self-worth...The conflict exists between one's self-appraisal and how society's pressure maneuvers it...The complex social problem depends not only on individuals themselves, but also on the images, messages and experiences to which they are exposed.”  To clarify, Kanouzi is referencing that the issue is not that individuals do not want to ignore societal pressures, but instead that the influences are so strong and central to who we are that they can not be dismissed.  In today’s digital age, we are constantly disclosed to a variety of messages that are impossible to be followed at once.  The overall societal perceptions of beauty, success, and intelligence are extremely dynamic, but the imprint left on our self-perception is long-lasting.  Moreover, our outlook on ourselves and our success is causing mental health issues nationwide.  The author additionally states that “A possible intrapersonal pathway is that low self-esteem may increase the tendency to ruminate about negative aspects of the self, and rumination, in turn, may intensify depressive affect” (Kanouzi).  There are often strong connections to be found between low self-image and depression.  As the societal messages are instilled into our minds, individuals are left in a state of self-loathing that causes them to believe they are lacking what is necessary for fundamental pieces of life, including love, respect, and trustworthiness.  The resulting brokenness can not be healed quickly, and potentially take years to recover from.  Finally, there is a strong correlation between self-perception and the environment we are in throughout crucial developmental years.  In reference to societal pressure, it is observed that “Adolescents and young adults are subject to pressure from their environment, including parents, colleagues, and especially mass media, in order to meet appearance standards in relation to body image” (Kanouzi).  Individuals from all age groups, especially adolescents, look towards the standards placed in front of them to judge their self-worth.  As societal expectations become more extreme, realistic self-perceptions begin to become obsolete, instead replaced by the harmful societal images placed in our minds that encourage us to constantly seek for more due to something lacking that can never be mended.  Self-perception is made up of building blocks from the top down, where societal influences dive into our peers and eventually trickle down to ourselves.

To conclude, self-perception is a culmination of a variety of self-imposed and external influences, including our peers, family members, romantic relationships, and mass media platforms. The extent of each of these categorical influences and their impact on perception varies person-to-person, but the overall theme is central: we frequently allow our dynamic self-perception to change, often in a negative way, based on the judgements made by those around us. On the other hand, a portion of Orwell’s fears is coming true through the way we look at ourselves. Our fear of judgement often leads us to hold ourselves back, as well as the societal constructs that allow us to remain here and in our eyes, thrive as individuality diminishes. Now that you are aware of the fragility of your self-perception, what are you willing to do about it?