Instagram Use Frequency and Its Impact on Psychological Well-being in Women (Annotated Bibliography)

Introduction

The Internet has become a widespread service worldwide, and the platform's use base is constantly increasing with a considerable number. Instagram is easily accessible, extremely desirable, and relatively cheap to many users due to the availability of smartphones and internet accessibility. Social media usage has expanded among adults, teenagers, and kids, creating opportunities for the development of online communities among users. Due to restrictive measures like lockdowns during the pandemic, many people were idle in their homes and could turn online to make themselves busy, which enhanced the trend of using social media sites like Instagram. Others felt compelled to stay in their houses and minimize physical engagement with others outside of their immediate family circle, even if they needed to mingle and maintain close relationships with others. The paper aims to review various articles and systematic reviews to help one understand the effects of Instagram use on women's mental well-being and behaviour.

Annotated Bibliography

Sherlock, M., & Wagstaff, D. L. (2019). Exploring the relationship between frequency of Instagram use, exposure to idealized images, and psychological well-being in women. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(4), 482–490. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000182

This journal explains how the frequency of use of Instagram has a tremendous psychological impact on women. The researchers of this article aimed to investigate and address how Instagram use and the range of psychological variables are related and how women are affected by this relationship. The obtained feedback showed that Instagram use and women's psychological well-being are closely related to each other. The frequency of use of Instagram increases depressive symptoms and lowers the self-esteem of women. Many women experience body dissatisfaction, and their general and physical appearance feelings of fear or apprehension have been noted to be very high. On Instagram, many beauty and fitness images are posted daily, significantly affecting women's psychological well-being, especially those who compare themselves with the posted pictures. The researchers in this journal try to figure out implications that can be appropriately used to educate people on chronic Instagram use. The study's findings reveal that excessive use of Instagram may lead to negative psychological outcomes and poor appearance-related self-perception, which aligns with prior research. The study is vital to the research as it provides interventions and education about chronic Instagram use.

Fagundes, L. S., Marot, T. A., & Natividade, J. C. (2020). Use of Instagram, Social Comparison, and Personality as Predictors of Self-Esteem. Psico-USF, 25(4), 711–724. https://doi.org/10.1590/1413/82712020250410

The main objective of this journal was to evaluate how strong Instagram use is, its intensity, the social comparison, and the major personality factors of self-esteem. After conducting an online survey, the results indicated that neuroticism and the (ability factors) of social comparison are the leading negative predictors of self-esteem. Agreeableness, age, and extraversion were examples of positive predictors of self-esteem. The difference in averages in the intensity levels of Instagram use showed that women use it more intensely and, therefore, are more exposed to comparing themselves with other users. The correlation coefficients showed that the greater the intensity of use, the higher the levels of social comparison, both in terms of abilities and opinions. Moreover, and only for women, the greater the intensity of Instagram use, the higher the levels of social comparison and the lower the levels of self-esteem. The study also showed that the higher the intensity of Instagram use in women, the lower their self-esteem. This was mainly contributed by deceiving pictures posted on the Instagram page. When a woman notices that the image posted on an Instagram page has many attractive features such as beauty, shape, or mode of dressing, self-esteem might arise, which can lead to depression or anxiety.

Jiang, S., & Ngien, A. (2020). The effects of Instagram use, social comparison, and self-esteem on social anxiety: A survey study in Singapore. Social Media + Society, 6(2). sagepub. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305120912488

The journal expounds on the impacts of Instagram use, self-esteem, and social comparison on social anxiety. The research was conducted in Singapore to evaluate whether using social media platforms makes people more emotionally healthy or deteriorates their emotional health. Researchers used a three-stage model of interactive media use for health promotion to survey the selected sample from Singapore to measure their social anxiety about Instagram use. The study’s findings showed that social comparison increases stress, and social media users often compare themselves with others’ appearance, ability, popularity, and social skills. The results indicated no relationship between Instagram use and social anxiety. However, the results also showed that high or frequent use of Instagram was correlated with a high level of social comparison, which increases the level of social anxiety among most people in Singapore. Instagram users compare their appearance with other people's appearance, social skills, ability, and popularity. Such comparison triggers strong psychological responses, especially when others selectively present more positive information.

Quiroz, S. I., & Mickelson, K. D. (2021). Are online behaviours damaging our in-person connections? Passive versus active social media use on romantic relationships. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.5817/cp2021-1-1

This article expounds on how social media platforms have become an integral part of many people's lives, and thereby, they are bound to impact different areas of life. The influence of social media on well-being has been greatly researched, but there needs to be more research on romantic relationships. This is surprising as many individuals integrate their relationships into their online identities, and many others find social media to impact their good or bad relationships. This study has uncovered some compound associations between social media use and the outcome of romantic relationships. Women who passively use social media at moderate to high levels display a negative association between the frequency of social media platform use and relationship satisfaction as well as social media use. Women who actively use social media at high levels display the weakest negative association between social media use and relationship satisfaction compared to the same category of men. 

Kama, R., Rahman, R., & Shargh, H. (2021). Covid-19 Pandemic, Instagram use, and Women’s Mental Health. Ijohp.journals.pnu.ac.ir. Retrieved from http://ijohp.journals.pnu.ac.ir/article_7531_91e4ef4989b58641bc2521398a0e884b.pdf.

The main objective of this study is to examine how Instagram use affects the mental health of both old and young women who were quarantined because of the coronavirus pandemic. The findings showed that there was no significant difference in the intensity of younger and older women’s daily Instagram use during the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine period. Other findings from this research indicated that Instagram use during the coronavirus pandemic had no negative impacts on the mental health of both young and older women, thus contradicting the findings of several researchers who claimed that the use of Instagram has negative effects on the psychological well-being of women.

Staniewski, M., & Awruk, K. (2022). The influence of Instagram on mental well-being and purchasing decisions in a pandemic. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 174(121287), 121287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2021.121287

The significance of the article is to evaluate the impact of Instagram on users' mental well-being and behaviour, including purchasing activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study included 359 respondents who stated their regular use of Instagram. The researchers applied three questionnaire tools: the Instagram usage questionnaire (original tool), the MSEI Multidimensional Self-Esteem Inventory by O'Brien and Epstein, and the personal data sheet (original tool). The study's findings indicated significant negative correlations between various self-esteem components (such as self-control, competence, lovability, defensive self-enhancement, and identity integration) and the frequency and intensity of Instagram use. Despite the discovered negative correlations, many study respondents didn't report any negative impact on their mental well-being due to Instagram use. In addition, the findings revealed that most research respondents didn't purchase based on Instagram advertisements. The study's findings support the argument that extensive or frequent use of social media such as Instagram can negatively impact self-esteem, impacting aspects like identity integration and self-control. Despite this argument, some positive impacts on mental well-being were noted, with a few users feeling that Instagram had a hugely beneficial effect. In addition, the study highlights the complex correlation between social media use, self-esteem, and behaviour, showing both potential risks and benefits related to Instagram use during the COVID-19 pandemic.