Instagram and Your Mental Health

In their study, “Browsing, Posting, and Linking on Instagram: The Reciprocal Relationships Between Different Types of Instagram Use and Adolescents’ Depressed Mood,” Eline Frison and Steven Eggermont found that  “adolescents have a higher chance to develop a greater depressed mood when they browse more often through Instagram” (607). With the persistence of models and influencers on Instagram, this finding is not surprising. I even find myself comparing my body to some Instagram model’s or feel like my life is boring because I don’t go on these amazing trips like the lifestyle bloggers. I even feel this FOMO when looking at my friends’ Instagrams, since I always assume they are having more fun than I am in college.

Another article from Time noted that Instagram, along with all other social media, has a negative effect on sleep quality, bullying, body image and FOMO (fear of missing out).

Models like Kendall Jenner (right) often post about their glamorous lives and their toned bodies. Many of the comments I see on her posts are things like #goals or “you’re perfect.” So many people fall into the trap of desiring the lives of the celebs they see on Instagram. Because their lives are so publicized, it normalizes them and makes ordinary people feel inferior.