Teenagers and Insecurity: Close but Not Friendly

Adolescence is the transition from childhood to adulthood, in which all aspects or functions develop as a person enters adulthood (Rumini et al., 2014). According to the WHO (2002), adolescents are those aged 10-19 years. Adolescence is the time when every person searches for identity and inner values. During this search, adolescents tend to encounter obstacles to change, such as excessive worry, doubts about the future, or even the emergence of insecurity. What exactly is insecurity?

According to clinical psychologist Oryza Sativa in Bisnis.com (22/6), insecurity is a feeling of being unsafe experienced by a person, leaving them anxious, restless, afraid of embarrassment and lacking self-confidence when about to do something. Insecurity can be caused by many factors. Pressure from within oneself, in the form of traumatic experiences, feelings of loneliness, feeling ignored, or feeling inferior about one's appearance, can cause a person to experience insecurity.

Insecurity is a normal mental condition experienced by everyone, especially adolescents. In fact, this condition is sometimes useful because it makes a person careful when making decisions. It can also motivate a person not to be easily satisfied and to keep trying to become a better person. As the saying goes, anything excessive is not good, and the same is true of insecurity.

Nowadays, adolescents and social media are inseparable. Indeed, social media is a place where adolescents can pour out their experiences and interests. However, it is also one of the major triggers of insecurity. Among adolescents, insecurity here is closely related to dissatisfaction with body shape. Adolescents who are active on social media tend to compare their bodies with the posts of public figures who are idolised by many people and regarded as “perfect” in physical beauty.

They see the physical beauty and body shape of these people and immediately want it, while ignoring and not appreciating the bodies they already have. This is reinforced by a survey by the Irish Examiner (31/03/2017) for “World Adolescent Mental Health Day”, in which almost 75% of teenage girls and boys were worried about and dissatisfied with their body shape. Teenage boys want a lean, six-pack body like athletes (six-pack). Meanwhile, teenage girls want a slim figure and flawless, smooth skin like models.

Driven by the ambition to meet these standards of beauty, adolescents are willing to do anything to become slim and lean without paying attention to their health. Such health problems can take the form of eating disorders (eating disorder). According to a survey by the Credos Institute (2019), of 1000 participants who were secondary school-aged adolescents, 56% were found to consider eating disorders one of the serious problems they are facing.

The level of inseurity can increase further if adolescents receive negative judgement or body shaming about their body shape from those around them. This burdens adolescents even more with high expectations about the ideal body shape. If these expectations are not met, they become worried and afraid of receiving bad judgement again, which then leads to disturbed mental health in adolescents.

Another type of insecurity that is often a problem among adolescents is social insecurity, or the fear of facing unfamiliar and new things, such as moving to a new city, the transition from secondary school to university, joining an extracurricular team, approaching a different group of friends, or facing people and places they do not know. They are afraid of being ostracised, being considered strange, and not being accepted in the new environment.

Excessive worry about these things will actually prevent them from adapting to the new environment. Adolescents will limit themselves in socialising and choose to be alone rather than receive unpleasant treatment from the new environment. Without realising it, what they have feared all along happens because of their own actions.

Excessive insecurity in adolescents about themselves and their surroundings can disturb their mental health, leading to serious fatal consequences. The still low awareness of Indonesian society about this issue has a major influence on a person's physical and psychological condition. Therefore, there are several ways adolescents can independently reduce this feeling of being insecure.

First, love yourself. Pay attention to the parts of yourself, both body and inner self, that you dislike. Every imperfect part of yourself deserves love. Embrace all these parts of yourself, both the perfect and the imperfect, and see the beauty within them. They are what make you who you are, and they are wonderful.

Second, do not focus too much on other people's judgement. Start being grateful for the things that happen in life. Our lives are not something that others can control. Give yourself credit for whatever you achieve in life. Accept and love yourself fully.  

Third, always think positively. Reduce overthinking about trivial problems. Do not be too hard on yourself, let alone consider yourself stupid. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. Do hobbies that leave your mind relaxed and happy.

Fourth, spend time with the people you love. Being surrounded by supportive people will help build self-confidence and make you feel accepted as you are. Seeing yourself through the perspective of people who care will help you appreciate your own qualities and uniqueness.