Active instagram use and its association with self-esteem and well-being.

Abstract

Over the last two decades, social media has become an integral facet of modern society. Image-based social networking sites such as Instagram have become increasingly popular among adolescents and young adults. However, to date, there is a preponderance of conflicting research regarding the impact of social media use, particularly of image-based platforms, on subsequent user outcomes. Utilizing a snowball sample of 359 college-aged individuals from throughout the United States, the present study sought to analyze the relationship between active social media use and its association with user self-esteem and well-being through data obtained through survey research from undergraduate college students. It was hypothesized that active Instagram use would be positively associated with user well-being and self-esteem. Not only was this hypothesis supported, but our findings reveal that intensity of Instagram use serves as a mediating variable in the relationship between active Instagram use and well-being and self-esteem. Specifically, respondents who identified as more active Instagram users used social media more intensely, and those who used social media more intensely had higher self-esteem. Similarly, those who used social media more intensely reported higher levels of well-being. While the correlations among these variables may be slight, we argue that they pose implications regarding how usage patterns impact user outcomes. These findings illustrate the role of intensity of Instagram usage on user outcomes and reveal a relationship among these variables, where more active Instagram use, coupled with more intense usage, ultimately corresponds to positive effects-specifically elevated levels of self-esteem and well-being.

Time Spent on Instagram and Body Image, Self-esteem, and Physical Comparison Among Young Adults in Spain: Observational Study

“…According to our results, the type of content viewed does not seem to be an influential factor. Moreover, previous studies have highlighted that an active disposition in the use of social media (ie, publishing photos, posts, or videos) can be protective, while a passive attitude in which the user is barely a content consumer has been associated with worse general health indicators [ 40 , 41 ]. Interestingly, something similar has also been described in other areas.…”

Understanding the relations between exposure to the positive self-portrayals of others on social media and emerging adults’ mental health during a COVID-19 imposed lockdown

“…Cross-sectional research investigating the relationship between adults' mental health and exposure to social media content has produced inconsistent results (for review, see Verduyn et al, 2017). More precisely, studies find that using social media can relate to both negative (e.g., Sherlock & Wagstaff, 2019;Yue et al, 2022;Zhao & Zhou, 2020) and positive mental health outcomes (Trifiro & Prena, 2021). Yet, these cross-sectional studies often relied on aggregated measures of social media usage, such as time spent on social media (e.g., Verduyn et al, 2017;Yin et al, 2018) or passive social media use (e.g., Trifiro & Prena, 2021;Verduyn et al, 2017).…”

“…More precisely, studies find that using social media can relate to both negative (e.g., Sherlock & Wagstaff, 2019;Yue et al, 2022;Zhao & Zhou, 2020) and positive mental health outcomes (Trifiro & Prena, 2021). Yet, these cross-sectional studies often relied on aggregated measures of social media usage, such as time spent on social media (e.g., Verduyn et al, 2017;Yin et al, 2018) or passive social media use (e.g., Trifiro & Prena, 2021;Verduyn et al, 2017). As social media use is highly diverse, measures that aggregate all social media experiences are not particularly insightful.…”

“…Furthermore, measurement issues prevail in existing research on the relations between social media use and mental health in 'general contexts', which may partly explain the inconsistency in their research results. More specifically, existing cross-sectional studies on the relations between exposure to social media content and mental health (e.g., Trifiro & Prena, 2021;Verduyn et al, 2017) largely focus on general social media measures and can therefore not account for the specific type of content individuals are exposed to when they are scrolling through social media. To move away from such a general approach, we utilise a recently developed content-specific measure to examine individuals' exposure to positive self-portrayals of others (Schreurs & Vandenbosch, 2022).…”

Self-Esteem and Real Self and False Self Presentation on Facebook Among Emerging Adults: The Moderating Role of Social Anxiety

“…Linking Self-Esteem and Social Anxiety to Self-Presentation on Social Media Self-esteem and social anxiety are associated with social media use (Burrow & Rainone, 2017;Carruthers et al, 2019;Kamalou et al, 2019;Trifiro & Prena, 2021). On the one hand, social media users appear to experience increased self-esteem after they receive positive social feedback on social media (e.g., via Facebook "Likes"; Burrow & Rainone, 2017).…”