Recently, I made the decision to delete my Instagram account. Though Instagram had initially offered me a platform to share my experiences, as well as keep up with what my friends were doing, my feelings towards Instagram have changed dramatically since I first joined.
Specifically, for me, Instagram has gone from being a social network that allowed users to communicate through pictures and videos, to a platform where celebrities, influences and major brands seized the opportunity to market directly to consumers.
With that transition came content showcasing health, beauty & fitness tips, the most amazing travel destinations, recipes, and so much more. Unfortunately, I couldn’t help but compare myself to these flawless representations and often felt worse as a result. I began to wonder how my Instagram use was impacting my wellbeing, and wondered whether this was the same for other people.
I came across a study by Mary Sherlock & Danielle Wagstaff (2018) that examined this exact issue. They studied the effects of Instagram on wellbeing in two parts, using 129 female participants, aged between 18 - 35. In the first part of their study, using a series of questionnaires, they found a significant relationship between Instagram use and psychological wellbeing. That is, the more people used Instagram, the worse their psychological health. Then, in the second part of their study, they investigated this issue in the laboratory. The participants were shown a number of Instagram images that were related to beauty, fitness, or travel, and asked to complete various psychological measures before and afterwards (a control group were shown no images at all).
What they found was that beauty and fitness images significantly decreased participants self-rated attractiveness. What’s more, the extent that participants experienced a decrease in self-rated attractiveness was associated with increases in depressive symptoms. Conversely, participants who viewed the travel images or no images at all showed no significant change in their appearance-related self-perception or depression.
The researchers concluded, therefore, that the use of Instagram may contribute to negative psychological outcomes and poor appearance-related self-perception. Now, although there are some limitations to the study (129 participants isn’t that many if you want to generalise these results outside of your study) these results are somewhat alarming given the increasing numbers of young people using the platform.
I can’t deny the many social benefits that come with Instagram; it has allowed people from all corners of the world to connect and share their experiences and it’s given rise to tons of great start-ups who have used Instagram to build their brand and connect directly to their customers. However, a growing body of research is highlighting the potential negative effects that regular Instagram use is having on our wellbeing. So what do we do? In my case, deleting my Instagram was a personal decision and I wouldn’t force it on anybody. This particular study showed how regular Instagram use was related to negative effects on wellbeing, so it’s possible that using Instagram in moderation may not bring such harmful effects. In other words, you don’t need to reject social media altogether like me, but it may be a good idea to begin to monitor your use if you have this nagging feeling that it’s not doing you any favours.
References
Sherlock, M., & Wagstaff, D. L. (2018) Exploring the relationship between frequency of Instagram use, exposure to idealised images, and psychological well-being in women. Psychology of Popular Media Culture.
What they found was that beauty and fitness images significantly decreased participants self-rated attractiveness. What’s more, the extent that participants experienced a decrease in self-rated attractiveness was associated with increases in depressive symptoms. Conversely, participants who viewed the travel images or no images at all showed no significant change in their appearance-related self-perception or depression.
The researchers concluded, therefore, that the use of Instagram may contribute to negative psychological outcomes and poor appearance-related self-perception. Now, although there are some limitations to the study (129 participants isn’t that many if you want to generalise these results outside of your study) these results are somewhat alarming given the increasing numbers of young people using the platform.
I can’t deny the many social benefits that come with Instagram; it has allowed people from all corners of the world to connect and share their experiences and it’s given rise to tons of great start-ups who have used Instagram to build their brand and connect directly to their customers. However, a growing body of research is highlighting the potential negative effects that regular Instagram use is having on our wellbeing. So what do we do? In my case, deleting my Instagram was a personal decision and I wouldn’t force it on anybody. This particular study showed how regular Instagram use was related to negative effects on wellbeing, so it’s possible that using Instagram in moderation may not bring such harmful effects. In other words, you don’t need to reject social media altogether like me, but it may be a good idea to begin to monitor your use if you have this nagging feeling that it’s not doing you any favours.
References
Sherlock, M., & Wagstaff, D. L. (2018) Exploring the relationship between frequency of Instagram use, exposure to idealised images, and psychological well-being in women. Psychology of Popular Media Culture.