Analysis of instagram profiles found through inscriptions on the walls of the In – Patient Adolescent Psychiatry Unit at the University Hospital in Kraków, Poland

Abstract

Aim of the studyAdolescents are increasingly active in social media: 72% use Instagram while as many as a quarter suffer from at least one mental disorder, Internet users among them. A number of studies confirming the mutual influence of social media and mental health have been conducted but there is a shortage of data on the Internet activity of people suffering from mental disorders. This study aims at extending the existing knowledge by analyzing Instagram accounts of adolescent psychiatric in-patients.Subject or material and methodsWe analyzed the contents of Instagram accounts, links to 36 of which were hidden in graffiti drawn by patients on the walls of an inpatient adolescent psychiatric ward. After excluding inactive and nonexistent accounts, 21 addresses were analyzed with respect to the number and content of published posts and comments left under them.Results90% of the accounts belonged to girls. 52% revealed the owner’s identity. The posts were mainly depressive, which correlated with the psychopathology of the patients. The comments differed in number and in character depending on the content of the post: replies to posts related to body image were mainly supportive, while comments on posts related to self-harm mainly expressed sympathy.DiscussionMost of the analyzed Instagram posts are related to the typical psychopathology of the patients hospitalized on our ward. In addition, it is also similar to negative effects that social media may have on mental health.ConclusionsThe association found in the study show that conducting further research on social media use by psychiatric patients may be clinically important.

Assessing the impact of Instagram use and deliberate self‐harm in adolescents: A scoping review

“…2020; Smith & Cipolli, 2021; Urbanek‐Matusiak et al . 2020). Social contagion is considered the involuntary influence of an individual's behaviours, attitudes, or personality on another person (Burgess et al .…”

“…With adolescents being particularly perceptive to the content posted on Instagram (Urbanek‐Matusiak et al . 2020), Memon et al . (2018) claimed that increased exposure to DSH content can result in viewers emulating and permanently adopting this behaviour, with Record et al .…”

“…2020; Urbanek‐Matusiak et al . 2020). Long‐standing concerns are that users are more likely to have depression; anxiety; addiction; engage in risk‐taking behaviours; have poor academic performance and deliberately self‐harm (Banyai et al .…”

“…2020; The Lancet 2019; Urbanek‐Matusiak et al . 2020). Social media use has fast become a psychiatric concern, with employees in the mental health field having a crucial role to provide education and support to both adolescents and family members on the negative impact that social media can have (Urbanek‐Matusiak et al .…”

“…2020; Urbanek‐Matusiak et al . 2020), with only student nurses recognizing the Instagram URL inscriptions on the wall in the study by Urbanek‐Matusiak et al . (2020).…”