Am I overdoing it with social media?

“We fundamentally have a herd mentality and at our core we are striving to find recognition within the herd. To ensure our survival in the group, we try to collect points with others and make a good impression,” explains Avelina Martinez-Löffler. Social media offers an opportunity to create an image of ourselves that is perceived to be ideal in the outside world – often one that is distorted and not consistent with reality.

“It only becomes dangerous when it means that you no longer want to look at your own reality and as a result are no longer really connected to it,” says the expert. Too little self-worth and self-love is often the cause. If you use social media frequently, it is important to check in with yourself and see what your motivation is for using it, asking yourself questions like: what do I want to hide? Am I experiencing psychological stress that I don’t want to accept? What is missing in my life? It can be very helpful to go to a counselling centre where you can talk about it with professional counsellors and reflect.

According to the counsellor, the situation for young people is a bit different: “they still need to find their place in society. Their bodies are changing, their opinions are based on those of others in the group, and they ultimately need the recognition of potential partners.”

Parents should accept this and keep their attitude positive so their children don’t turn away. It’s important, though, to make sure there is still a link to reality and to offer young people activities away from the internet.

Does this topic affect you and are you interested in talking to a professional about it? You are welcome to contact one of the Austrian family counselling centres. You can look for a suitable centre using the search engine on our website.

Our interview partner

Avelina Martinez-Löffler is a family and educational counsellor in the Eltern-Kind-Zentrum (parent and child centre) in Schwaz, Tyrol.
She is a lawyer and qualified marriage and family counsellor, as well as a life, education and social counsellor.

Eltern-Kind-Zentrum Schwaz
Johannes-Messner-Weg 11
6130 Schwaz
Website of the Eltern-Kind-Zentrum, Schwaz

The interview was conducted in December 2025.