An exploratory study on the association of Instagram use and self-esteem

Abstract

Instagram has become an increasingly popular app among the youth. It has been postulated that Instagram use has the most detrimental effects on users' mental health because it is an image-based platform. Previous research on the psychological effects of networking sights is rich, but studies on Instagram specifically are limited. What makes Instagram interesting to explore is that it is an image-based app, exposing users to perfect content prompts constant social comparison. It has been postulated that constant social comparison might lead to lower levels of self-esteem. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between Instagram1use, and the levels of self-esteem in daily users. To understand the effects of daily usage of Instagram, the sample (N = 70) consisted of Instagram users who use it daily. The age range of the sample is 18 to 25 years. The participants were administered a demographic questionnaire assessing their time on Instagram, the Rosenberg Self- Esteem scale (RSES 1965), the motives of Instagram use, and Instagram content preference, assembled from previous studies. Three motives were negatively correlated with levels of self-esteem, documentation, self-promotion and diversion. Time spent on Instagram was statistically significant; the more users spent time on Instagram, the lower their self-esteem levels were. However, when a group comparison was done to explore the content preference, there was no statistical significance