How is our mental health affected by interacting with video and photo sharing sites?
Does it influence our sense of well being, confidence, or view of what is normal? Instagram is one of the top social media platforms of our days, with millions of users. Marketers are now relying on it as the second biggest platform where they can promote events and products, after Facebook.
And celebrities all over the world post their latest news on their Instagram account, connecting with their fans. But what is the impact of this social media platform on our lifestyle and health?
A danger to your mental health
A recent study looked into the deep effects of Instagram over teens and young adults. Their findings are scary: the photo-based platform is linked to high levels of anxiety, bullying, FOMO and depression. Considering these are also the main illnesses of our century, Instagram has a major negative impact on our mind.
The reason for this is the fact people post their best version on this platform, which is often altered to fit into certain stereotypes. Some of the best examples of this phenomenon are celebrities' accounts, filled with glamorous pictures. While these photos attract millions of likes, they also send a distorted message to young girls and encourage them to alter their image to fit the pattern.
Your very friends and relatives might be using filters before posting photos on Instagram. By browsing the platform and watching these images, you are prone to compare your own appearance to the images you see, especially if you are a woman. In most cases, the viewer's perception on their own body is a negative one. This promotes anxiety and depression, as women become unhappy with their own weight, body shape and even overall life.
Long term effect of Instagram
Studies focused on the short-term effect of the photo-based platform, but the long-term effects are not hard to imagine. The more time you spend browsing photos on Instagram, the more vulnerable you are to its negative impact.
Looking at pictures of friends enjoying their holiday can lead to fear of missing out, known as FOMO. This also encourages the viewer to set unrealistic expectations regarding their life and body.
Another effect of Instagram is that it encourages youth to struggle to achieve fame, no matter the cost. This sends them into a rush to get the Insta-perfect picture, which often puts young adults in dangerous situations. Investing time and effort into promoting a false image of yourself often becomes a full-time job for teens and young adults, who start living in a digital, volatile world.
Instagram can impact your self-esteem in 30 minutes
Another study on how Instagram impacts lifestyle and self-esteem found that it only takes 30 minutes of browsing the platform to ruin your positive body image. Comparing your life, weight and face to digitally altered images you see on Instagram can leave even the most confident person with a sour taste about their real life.
While there is a lot we know about using social media and networking, there is even more we still don't know. If you are not willing to delete your Instagram account, the only way to protect yourself from its negative impact is to remind yourself that what you see is only what other people want you to see, a fake image they create and promote for others to admire.
