Likes and Problematic Instagram Use: The Moderating Role of Self-Esteem

Related metacognitions, desire thinking and identity differentially predict compulsion and withdrawal symptoms in problematic Instagram use

Work has identified that metacognitive thought results in desire-based thinking and perpetuates the magnitude and severity of maladaptive behaviour including problematic social media use, and also that one's ingroup identity is related to increasing problematic behaviour. No evidence has ascertained the relative contribution of these as related differential factors in the experience of problematic social media use. The current study explored the comparative importance of components of desire thinking, positive and negative metacognitions and dimensions of ingroup identity on degree of problematic use among 147 current Instagram users. Results showed that for predicting general problematic Instagram use negative metacognitive beliefs and the verbal perseverance component of desire-based thinking were significant. Importantly, however, different factors appeared to be important for predicting distinct aspects of problematic Instagram. For compulsivity indicators, negative metacognitions and verbal perseveration were essential, whereas for the withdrawal component identity centrality (and no other dimensions of identity) and imaginal prefiguration emerge as the sole independent predictors.

Glow up: does a professional photoshoot intervention affect self-esteem and emotions among adolescent psychiatric patients?-A longitudinal intervention study

Background

Today, online communication is shaped by a billion-dollar social media (SM) and social networking site (SNS) industry. Visual content consumed by children and adolescents has been shown to influence behavioral patterns, state emotions, and self-esteem (SE). In this study, we introduced a novel intervention creating visual content through a professional photoshoot and investigated its impact on state emotions and SE in child and adolescent psychiatric (CAP) patients.

Methods

Standardized and validated self-rating questionnaires were used to assess SE, state emotions, coping mechanisms, psychopathological symptoms, and internet use behavior at baseline. SE and state emotions were monitored at different time points around a professional photoshoot within 45 CAP patients (30 female patients; mean age, 15.1 years) using a longitudinal design.

Results

Within-subject repeated-measures ANOVA and bootstrapped paired-sample t-tests showed a significant fluctuation in state emotions and SE throughout the intervention. Spearman correlations and univariate logistic regressions revealed that internalizing symptomatology and maladaptive coping significantly worsened the outcome of the intervention on state emotions and SE in girls. Internet-related variables heightened the positive effect of the intervention in boys and lowered SE in girls during the intervention.

Conclusion

The photo intervention had various gender-specific effects. Boys did benefit from the intervention in terms of longitudinal outcome on positive state emotions (PE) and SE, even positively influenced by SNS and SM. Thus, it might be concluded that online social comparison was processed more beneficial in boys. In contrast, when working with visual content in girls, psychopathology and coping must be considered. Internet consumption in general, especially SM and SNS, was related to low SE in girls. Nevertheless, when therapeutically accompanied, the "glow up moment" during the shoot (high on PE and SE; low on negative state emotions) could be used as an index moment for therapeutic reflection.

Internet Addiction and Psychological Distress: Can Social Networking Site Addiction Affect Body Uneasiness Across Gender? A Mediation Model

Introduction

The Internet, with its unlimited information, revolutionary communication capabilities, and innovative potential to expand knowledge, is ubiquitous throughout the world, but it also has significant implications for users' mental health. Given the not yet clearly defined and distinguishable nosographic categories of online addiction and the resulting difficulties in describing the impact on users' mental health, the present cross-sectional study aimed to gain new insights into the relationship between Internet addiction (especially social networking site [SNS] addiction), psychological distress, and physical discomfort, as well as gender differences in impact among users.

Method

A sample of 583 Italian speakers (50.8% males; 48.7% females) with a mean age of 30.96 (SD = 12.12) completed an online survey in July 2021. A set of psychometric self-report instruments was administered to assess the study variables. Mediation analyses were performed for both the whole sample and across genders.

Results

The study found that men exhibited higher levels of Internet addiction and craving than women, but no differences were found for SNS addiction. Furthermore, indicators of psychological distress (i.e., anxiety, depression, stress, loneliness, insomnia, and self-esteem) mediated the association between SNS addiction and body uneasiness, with slight differences across genders.

Conclusion

This paper contributes to the existing literature on online addictive behaviors by also highlighting gender differences. The findings underscore the need for educational experiences that can prevent problematic use of the Internet and SNSs.

Factorial validity of the problematic social media use scale among Chinese adults

The Problematic Social Media Use Scale (PSMUS) is a promising self-report measure assessing problematic use of social media among adolescents and adults. However, data concerning its psychometrics are still scant, and adaptation in Eastern cultures is missing. This study aimed to test the factorial structure, internal consistency, and external validity of the Chinese version of the PSMUS in a sample of 672 adults (31% males) aged between 18 and 58. A series of confirmatory factor analyses supported the bifactor structure of the PSMUS, including a general factor and five specific independent components, namely preference for online social interactions, mood regulation, cognitive preoccupation, compulsive use, and negative outcomes. Hierarchical Omega supported the presence of a general factor, and also ancillary indexes suggested that the questionnaire is not strictly unidimensional. Subsequent structural equation modeling testing the incremental contribution of each PSMUS facet in predicting negative emotional states showed that, above and beyond the general factor, only one of the five dimensions (i.e., negative outcomes) significantly links to our criterion measure further support the use of an overall PSMU score. Moreover, results support the external validity of the questionnaire, given its positive association with depression, anxiety, and stress scores. The Chinese version of the PSMUS is a psychometric sound instrument to assess the level of PSMU in adults. Future research may evaluate the cross-cultural validity of the bifactor model and its associations with other assessment methods.

[Social networks use and risk factors for the development of eating disorders: A systematic review]

OBJECTIVE

Review the available scientific literature on the relationship between the use of social networks and risk factors for the development of eating disorders, such as low self-esteem, body dissatisfaction and/or idealization of thinness, in the Spanish population.

DESIGN

A systematic review of scientific literature published between 2010 and 2022 was carried out.

DATA SOURCES

PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science.

SELECTION OF STUDIES

Only original articles were included, published in Spanish or English, that measured at least one variable of use of social networks and at least one risk factor for eating disorders in the Spanish population.

DATA EXTRACTION

The PRISMA 2009 statement was used as a guide. The quality of selected articles was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist.

RESULTS

Twelve cross-sectional studies that met the inclusion criteria were identified. Evidence suggests that the use and frequency of use of social networks is significantly associated with body dissatisfaction (p≤0,01), drive for thinness (p≤0,001), and low self-esteem (p≤0,05) in adolescents and young adults in the Spanish population.

CONCLUSIONS

Users of social networks, mainly those based on images, are exposed to factors that could increase their risk of developing an eating disorder.

User-generated content and influencer marketing involving e-cigarettes on social media: a scoping review and content analysis of YouTube and Instagram

BACKGROUND

Evidence suggests that experimentation with e-cigarettes among young people is increasing. Social media is widely used by young people with user-generated content and influencer marketing particularly influential in promoting products. This paper documents a snapshot of online user-generated content and influencer marketing related to e-cigarettes on YouTube and Instagram.

METHODS

Scoping review of relevant e-cigarette-related content on two social media platforms popular with youths, YouTube and Instagram, between June and August 2021. Content analysis was undertaken to examine text, audio, and video content, recording age restrictions, health warnings, page characteristics, and post characteristics. Narrative post content was coded using a coding frame that was developed inductively in response to emergent categories.

RESULTS

Vaping was portrayed positively on social media; of the posts analysed, 86.5% (n = 90 of 104) of Instagram posts and 66.0% (n = 64 of 97) of YouTube videos. Warnings about age restrictions and health (e.g., nicotine addiction/toxicity) did not feature in the majority of posts; 43.3% (n = 42) of YouTube videos (n = 42) contained an age warning compared to 20.2% of Instagram posts (n = 21). While 25.8% (n = 25) of YouTube videos and 21.2% of Instagram (n = 22) posts contained a health warning.

CONCLUSION

Of concern is the fact that the vast majority of YouTube and Instagram content about e-cigarettes promoted their use, and typically the content does not contain age and/or health warnings. These findings may highlight a priority for governmental policy to restrict the ability of marketers to reach youths with social media content promoting e-cigarettes.

Development and Validation of the Need for Online Social Feedback (NfOSF) Scale

People are known to adjust their behavior based on social information. Starting from 2004, social media rapidly became a new social arena for human interaction, and scholars widely studied the effect of likes on people’s psyche and behavior. However, likes are just one of the possible social feedbacks among many others on social media. Moreover, social feedback influence should be analyzed recognizing individual differences in people’s needs and desires for them. This work was aimed at developing and validating (internally and externally) a scale able to capture people’s perceived need for online social feedback (NfOSF) applicable to most social media platforms. Data coming from 1403 Italian participants were used for this purpose. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses appeared to support a two-factor structure for the NfOSF scale, while Pearson’s correlation confirmed the expected positive relations of NfOSF factors with Narcissism, Need to Belong, FOMO, and Social media reputation perception. Eventually, NfOSF scale reliability appeared optimal.

Social Media in Adolescents: A Retrospective Correlational Study on Addiction

Considering the growing interest in the possible effects of internet's addiction on adoles-cent's mental health, this study aimed at exploring the psychological correlates of social media and internet problematic use during the first year of the covid-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of secondary school students (N = 258); participants were asked to complete an online survey, investigating social media addiction (BSMAS), self-esteem (RSES), feelings of isolation (CSIQ-A) and anxiety (STAI-Y). Data analysis (descriptive statistics, correlational and regression analyses) was conducted through XLSTAT software ©. An additional ad hoc questionnaire was administrated. Findings showed that the 11% of the participants were significantly addicted to social media, mostly females (59%). Gender represented an exposure factor for the hours spent on social media and the checking activity while performing other daily activities. Significant correlations emerged between the self-report measure of social media addiction and self-esteem and anxiety. Low scores at RSES corresponded to higher checking activity, hours spent on social networks, and playing videogames that were investigated as supplementary indicators of addiction with ad hoc questionnaire. The regression analysis showed just two predictors of social media addiction, gender (female) and trait anxiety. Limitations and implications of the study were argued in order to give some indications for future programs.

Instagram Use and Mental Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Social Comparison

Instagram has grown in popularity among young adults and adolescents and is currently the second-favorite social network in the world. Research on its relationship to mental well-being is still relatively small and has yielded contradictory results. This study explores the relationship between time spent on Instagram and depressive symptoms, self-esteem, and disordered eating attitudes in a nonclinical sample of female Instagram users aged 18-35 years. In addition, it explores the mediating role of social comparison. A total of 1172 subjects completed a one-time-only online survey. Three different mediation analyses were performed to test the hypotheses that social comparison on Instagram mediates the association time spent on Instagram with depressive symptoms (model 1), self-esteem (model 2), and disordered eating attitudes (model 3). All three models showed that the relationship between intensity of Instagram use and the respective mental health indicator is completely mediated by the tendency for social comparison on Instagram.

Re-invigorating the photo album: augmenting printed photobooks with digital media

The photo album emerged in the late 1800s as place to collect portrait photos of visitors to a home, and was later appropriated by Kodak as a visual chronology of family history. With digital photography, the album has largely been replaced by online repositories of images shared on social media, and the selective printing of photobooks. In this paper, we present a 'next-generation paper' authoring system for annotating photobooks with multimedia content viewed on a nearby smartphone. We also report the results of a trial of this system, by nine travellers who used it to make augmented photobooks following a trip. These findings show that the augmented physical-and-digital photobook can heighten awareness of the multisensory aspects of travel, enrich memories, and enhance social interaction around photos. The social and technical implications for the future of the photo album are discussed.

Looking good but tweeting bad? The social perception of orthodontic-related posts on Twitter and Instagram

BACKGROUND

Social media plays a major role in the daily life of adolescents and has become highly interesting for healthcare research as well. The aim of this study was to explore the social perception of orthodontic-related posts on Twitter and Instagram by young adults.

METHODS

401 orthodontic-related posts were collected during a 30-day period and categorized with regard to specific characteristics - their content and the social networking site (SNS) being used as well as the presence or absence of a selfie. In order to investigate the social perception of these posts, 42 young adults rated the emotional states of the SNS users using the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM)-Tool. A total of 4211 poster-rater observations pertaining to the three SAMs dimensions pleasure, arousal and dominance were analyzed by using linear and multinomial logistic regression analyses.

RESULTS

The investigated characteristics of the collected posts had significant effects on the perceived emotional state of the SNS users. Besides significant SNS-associated differences, there were also effects that were independent of the SNS being used: Receiving orthodontic appliances was more often associated with rather negative emotions (p < 0.001), while users who posted about the removal of such braces were more often perceived as joyful (p < 0.001). Interestingly, users whose posts contained selfies with visible braces were perceived as significantly more positive and stronger in comparison to users who did not post a picture of themselves (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

This research gives insights into the social perception of orthodontic-related posts on SNS. While users' emotional states were perceived highly differential on both SNS, orthodontic-related content also revealed significant effects on social perception. Because selfies with visible braces were associated with positive feelings by young adults, a modern and SNS-related way of coping with a temporary supposed impairment like fixed orthodontic appliances might have been revealed through this research.

A meta-analysis of the problematic social media use and mental health

BACKGROUND

Although previous meta-analyses were conducted to quantitatively synthesize the relation between problematic social media (SM) use and mental health, they focused on Facebook addiction.

AIMS

The purpose of this meta-analysis is to examine this relation by extending the research scope via the inclusion of studies examining problematic use of all platforms.

METHOD

One hundred and thirty-three independent samples (N =244,676) were identified.

RESULTS

As expected, the mean correlations between problematic SM use and well-being are negative, while those between problematic SM use and distress are positive. Life satisfaction and self-esteem are commonly used to represent well-being, while depression and loneliness are usually used to indicate distress. The mean correlations of problematic SM use with life satisfaction and self-esteem are small, whereas those of problematic SM use with depression and loneliness are moderate. The moderating effects of publication status, instruments, platforms and mean age are not significant.

CONCLUSIONS

The magnitude of the correlations between problematic SM use and mental health indicators can generalize across most moderator conditions.

How Does Psychological Distress Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Internet Addiction and Instagram Addiction in Emerging Adults?

International research has underlined a worrying increase in Internet and Instagram addiction among emerging adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the role played by alexithymia and psychological distress due to COVID-19 has been evidenced, no study has explored their complex relationship in predicting emerging adults' Internet and Instagram addiction. The present study aimed to verify whether peritraumatic distress due to the COVID-19 pandemic mediated the relationship between emerging adults' alexithymia and their Internet/Instagram addiction, in a sample composed of n = 400 Italian emerging adults. Results showed that females had higher peritraumatic distress due to COVID-19 than males, whereas males had higher externally oriented thinking and higher levels of Internet addiction than females. Emerging adults' psychological distress due to COVID-19 significantly mediated the effect of alexithymia on Internet and Instagram addiction. Our findings supported the presence of a dynamic relationship between individual vulnerabilities and the co-occurrence of other psychological difficulties in predicting emerging adults' Internet and Instagram addiction during the pandemic, with important clinical implications.

Differences between Facebook and Instagram Usage in Regard to Problematic Use and Well-Being

Although the association of well-being (e.g., self-esteem, depression symptoms, and loneliness) with Facebook usage (i.e., number of friends and frequency of use) has been investigated by many researchers, only a limited number of studies have scrutinised Facebook against Instagram use. The aim of this study is not only to address this literature gap but also to explore whether problematic use and well-being differ between Facebook and Instagram users in relation to the number of received "likes" and Facebook friends/Instagram followers, as well as the importance of these "likes" and friends/followers. Sixty-nine Facebook users and 66 Instagram users completed an online questionnaire, including self-esteem, loneliness, depression, and problematic Internet use items. Overall, Instagram users exhibited significantly higher problematic use behaviour compared to Facebook users. Age and importance of "followers" were negatively associated with problematic use of Instagram, whilst only the importance of "likes" was negatively associated with Facebook. The number of Facebook "friends" was positively associated with depressive symptoms, but this was not the case for the number of Instagram "followers". It is important to note that the number of "likes" was only negatively associated with self-esteem, but there was no association with loneliness. A potential explanation between the differences in the two platforms and well-being might be related to their different functionalities, for example, Instagram is an image-oriented platform that may boost users' self-esteem through post "likes" but only when the users are strongly connected.

Cyber-Personality and Liking Expression: A Study From WeChat Users in China

Clicking the like button following a post on social media has become a common means of expressing and gathering social support online. Little is known about how liking expression is linked and regulated by personality traits and communication motives. Following a preliminary survey (n = 168) about the usage of the like function on WeChat, a Chinese social media platform, we conducted an online study (n = 183) to map the Big-Five personality traits and five communication motives to the frequency (likelihood) of liking expression. The results showed that each user had, on average, 385 WeChat friends and spent 2.2 hours and used the liking function 1.1 times each day on WeChat. The personality trait conscientiousness was negatively related to the liking expression (β = −0.505, p < 0.05). In contrast, agreeableness promoted the expression of liking directly (β = 0.153, p < 0.05) and indirectly via two communication motives, enjoyment (a: β = 0.377, p < 0.01; b: β = 0.433, p < 0.001) and passing time (c: β = 0.578, p < 0.05; d: β = 0.523, p < 0.001). The liking expression may serve as a simple index for understanding dispositional underpinnings of social media networking.

Adolescent Attachment to Parents and Peers and the Use of Instagram: The Mediation Role of Psychopathological Risk

Several studies have shown an association between adolescents’ attachment relationships and social media use. Instagram is the social media platform most used by teenagers and recent studies have shown an association between Instagram use and increased psychopathological risk. The present study aims to verify whether psychopathological risk mediates the relationship between an adolescent’s attachment to their parents and peers and their Instagram addiction. N = 372 adolescents are assessed through self-report questionnaires evaluating Instagram addiction, the adolescents’ attachments to parents and peers, and their psychopathological risk. The Bergen Instagram Addiction Scale (BIAS) is developed by adapting the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale. Results show the validity and reliability of the BIAS, confirming a one-factor structure. Findings show that a worse attachment to parents and peers is associated with adolescents’ psychopathological risk, which is associated with Instagram addiction. This finding has important clinical implications. Being able to intervene in adolescents’ relationships with parents and peers and the ways in which adolescents feel in relation to others could allow for a reduction in adolescents’ psychological difficulties, involving reduced Instagram use as a vehicle for the expression of their psychopathological symptoms.

Neuromarketing as a strategic tool for predicting how Instagramers have an influence on the personal identity of adolescents and young people in Spain

Instagram is the fastest growing social network and has an audience that shares lifestyles related to their interest in beauty and fashion. However, the exposure of adolescents to images that promote the slender beauty ideal can lead to body dissatisfaction, as they place a lot of importance on the likes and comments they receive regarding the comparison of their appearance with that of other users. The popularity of influencers and their opinion leadership has resulted in the convergence of a given body image with the promotion of products and brands. Through the use of neuromarketing techniques -attention through eye tracking, and emotion using galvanic skin response-, the objective of this research is to determine the cognitive perception that Spanish adolescents and young people have of the stimuli transmitted by influencers on Instagram, surpassing classic content analysis of social networks and offering the innovative technique of registering unconscious reactions of the audience, both toward the body image as well as toward the brands promoted by influencers who are akin to the audience. The results suggest that adolescents place greater attention and emotional intensity on the nude body appeal of influencers compared to young adults, and show only scarce interest in brands.

#Vape: Measuring E-Cigarette Influence on Instagram With Deep Learning and Text Analysis

E-cigarette use is increasing dramatically among adolescents as social media marketing portrays "vaping" products as healthier alternatives to conventional cigarettes. In September 2018, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched an anti-vaping campaign, in U.S. high schools, on social media and other platforms, emphasizing "The Real Cost" of e-cigarettes. Using a novel deep learning approach, we assessed changes in vaping-related content on Instagram from 2017 to 2019 and drew an inference about the initial impact of the FDA's Real Cost campaign on Instagram. We collected 245,894 Instagram posts that used vaping-related hashtags (e.g., #vape, #ejuice) in four samples from 2017 to 2019. We compared the "like" count from these posts before and after the FDA campaign. We used deep learning image classification to analyze 49,655 Instagram image posts, separating images of men, women, and vaping devices. We also conducted text analysis and topic modeling to detect the common words and themes in the posted captions. Since September 2018, the FDA-sponsored hashtag #TheRealCost has been used about 50 times per month on Instagram, whereas vaping-related hashtags we tracked were used up to 10,000 times more often. Comparing the pre-intervention (2017, 2018) and post-intervention (2019) samples of vaping-related Instagram posts, we found a three-fold increase in the median "like" count (10 vs. 28) and a 6-fold increase in the proportion of posts with more than 100 likes (2 vs. 15%). Over 70% of Instagram vaping images featured e-juices and devices, with a growing number of images depicting a "pod," the type of discrete vaping device that delivers high concentration of nicotine and is favored by novice e-cigarette users. In addition, the Instagram analytics data shared by the vaping influencers we interviewed showed underage Instagram users among their followers.

A Call for a Public Health Agenda for Social Media Research

Research has revealed both the benefits and harms of social media use, but the public has very little guidance on how best to use social media to maximize the benefits to their health and well-being while minimizing the potential harms. Given that social media is intricately embedded in our lives, and we now have an entire generation of social media natives, the time has come for a public health research agenda to guide not only the public’s use of social media but also the design of social media platforms in ways that improve health and well-being. In this viewpoint we propose such a public health agenda for social media research that is framed around three broad questions: (1) How much social media use is unhealthy and what individual and contextual factors shape that relationship; (2) What are ways social media can be used to improve physical and mental well-being; and (3) How does health (mis)information spread, how does it shape attitudes, beliefs and behavior, and what policies or public health strategies are effective in disseminating legitimate health information while curbing the spread of health misinformation? We also discuss four key challenges that impede progress on this research agenda: negative sentiment about social media among the public and scientific community, a poorly regulated research landscape, poor access to social media data, and the lack of a cohesive academic field. Social media has revolutionized modern communication in ways that bring us closer to a global society, but we currently stand at an inflection point. A public health agenda for social media research will serve as a compass to guide us toward social media becoming a powerful tool for the public good.