Instagram Self-Experience: An Examination of Instagram, Self-Esteem, Social Comparison, and Self-Presentation

Abstract

Social media has tremendous adverse effects on mental health. The psychological implications of social media include, but are not limited to, social comparison processes, a discrepant self-presentation, and lowered self-esteem. The current mixed-methods, cross-sectional self-report study investigated the quality of the nature of the relationships between Instagram use, social comparison, self-presentation, and self-esteem to obtain a deeper understanding of emerging adults’ (i.e., 18–29 year-olds) self-experience using Instagram. A total of 104 individuals, ranging in age from 18–29 years, participated in the study and completed the following self-report measures: the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), the Iowa-Netherlands Comparison Orientation Measure (INCOM), the Self-Presentation Facebook Questionnaire (SPFBQ), and the following were created and/or adapted for this study—the Instagram Use Questionnaire, self-presentation questions, social comparison questions, and the Instagram Self-Experience Narrative Questionnaire. The results demonstrated interconnected relationships between Instagram use, self-presentation, social comparison, and self-esteem, and highlighted emerging adults’ experience of Instagram. The findings of this study expand the clinical knowledge of Instagram’s psychological effects and may assist clinicians and emerging adults with managing the potential negative mental health effects of social media, particularly Instagram. Implications for practice, limitations of the current study, and directions for future research are also discussed.