Kendall Jenner Details ‘Addictive’ Relationship With Social Media Despite Anxiety
By Kay Lewis on May 16, 2021 at 4:55 PM EDT
Instagram | Kendall Jenner
Kendall Jenner sat down with Vogue for their video series Open Mindedto detail her love/hate relationship with social media. She calls social media “addictive” and explains how it has unfortunately affected her anxiety. “Personally, what's affected my anxiety the most is the amount of negativity that I see,” shared the model. “There's just literally too much. I find that the more I'm looking at the screen, the more detached I feel with my own body or to what's happening right in front of me.”
It's The Negativity For Her
Instagram | Kendall Jenner
While she admits the platforms have a lot of negativity behind them, she still finds that she is “addicted” to scrolling through and staying up to date, but it is not always that way. “My relationship with social media is a bit addictive right now, which I don't like and I'm not proud to say that, but I also feel like that's something that probably most of us can relate to.” She admits that she doesn’t like the dependency that she feels on social.
Aren't They Famous Because Of Social Media?
Instagram | Kendall Jenner
This confession is kind of ironic seeing as the 25-year-old and her entire family owes their success to social media and reality TV. Maybe that’s where that feeling of dependency comes from? Sitting down with Jenner was Dr. Jorge Partida, Chief of Psychology at the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, the reality TV star noted that the “false narrative” that surrounds her family is usually what sets off her anxiety. “The internet, I guess, bases things off of such small moments with no context.”
Dr. Padrida Dropped Some Knowledge
Instagram | Kendall Jenner
As for her “addiction” even after all that negativity, Dr. Patrida shares that it is the need for “validation”. “That sense of not getting enough positive reinforcement from our home environment -- not feeling rooted -- allows us to really look outside ourselves for a reward. And I think social media really pulls for that.” It is something that is conditioned from a “very young age”. The narrative that she and her family “set a bad example” is a lot of weight on the model’s shoulders.
Kendall Knows Exactly What Triggers Her
Instagram | Kendall Jenner
Ultimately, Jenner chalks it up to being “overwhelmed” by social media. “Because of social media, everything is highlighted, everything is heightened whether good or bad. I feel most of my social media anxiety is actually more the overwhelmingness of it all.” Who can’t relate to that? It sounds like Jenner is having a big case of FOMO along with many other people who enjoy social media. Even when she feels like she is “going to break” Jenner still comes back to scroll through her timeline, like pictures, and of course post her own.
