Over 1 billion people enter Instagram monthly, underpinning the fact that it is one of the fastest-growing platforms. It is a medium through which people can post photos and video clips, follow famous persons and influencers as well as communicate with friends and family. Although Instagram may be a source of fun and entertainment it may harm mental health and overall wellness of individuals.
One of the most prominent negative sides of using Instagram is the comparison game. People often put themselves in position to compare with others on this platform whether it’s their look, achievements or life style. This can result in feelings of inferiority or even depression. For instance, as you are going through your Instagram news feed you start seeing pictures/videos of other perfect body shapes, costly holidays, or other impressive things about their professional life; indirectly feel inadequate about yourself. Eventually lack of confidence in oneself crops up leading to depression disorders, anxiety among others issues like self-harm.
Instagram has another downside which is the general obligation to show an ideal side of oneself. People often display on their feeds only the edited versions of themselves. This might give a false impression, as individuals currently only perceive the positive moments in other peoples' lives. Moreover, it may impose the expectation on individuals to always look and act good, finally resulting in lack of authenticity or vulnerability.
In addition, Instagram also poses to unhealthy habit formation. For instance, people can spend hours just flipping through their feed and comparing with others as well as working on their own image which can later be circulated online. As a consequence such behavior may lead to excessive use of the platform that worsens socialization and results in decreasing number of live communication events. Furthermore, this type of virtual interaction can damage normal life activities like work, study or personal relationships system.
Moreover, Instagram can give you FOMO, seeing others having fun and doing interesting things could make you feel that you are missing out. It can result to feelings of loneliness and isolation, and also force the person to keep checking the platform just to see what others are doing.
Even though Instagram has many negative mental health effects, there are various ways one can lessen their impact. One way is to use it in a controlled manner. Instead of spending hours endlessly scrolling on the feed, approximate your time on the platform. This will help cut down on comparing oneself with others and feeling pressured to present an ideal image.
Even with all its advantages and disadvantages, Instagram is still the most time-consuming social media platform. Particularly, one watches videos on Instagram and download instagram videos on some online sites.
