Time Spent on Instagram and Body Image, Self-esteem, and Physical Comparison Among Young Adults in Spain: Observational Study
BackgroundInstagram is a social media platform based on photos and videos that encourages interaction and comparison between users. Its growing popularity, especially among young people, has generated interest in the impact its use can have on users´ mental health, specifical...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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JMIR Publications
2023-04-01
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| Series: | JMIR Formative Research |
| Online Access: | https://formative.jmir.org/2023/1/e42207 |
| _version_ | 1797734235299119104 |
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| author | Isabel Alfonso-Fuertes Miguel Angel Alvarez-Mon Rafael Sanchez del Hoyo Miguel A Ortega Melchor Alvarez-Mon Rosa M Molina-Ruiz |
| author_facet | Isabel Alfonso-Fuertes Miguel Angel Alvarez-Mon Rafael Sanchez del Hoyo Miguel A Ortega Melchor Alvarez-Mon Rosa M Molina-Ruiz |
| author_sort | Isabel Alfonso-Fuertes |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
BackgroundInstagram is a social media platform based on photos and videos that encourages interaction and comparison between users. Its growing popularity, especially among young people, has generated interest in the impact its use can have on users´ mental health, specifically on their self-esteem and degree of satisfaction with their own body image.
ObjectiveWe aimed to analyze the relationships between the use of Instagram, both the hours of daily use and the type of content viewed, and self-esteem, tendency to make physical comparisons, and satisfaction with body image.
MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, we recruited 585 participants aged between 18 years and 40 years. Individuals who were interested in participating but had a personal history of eating disorders or had previously been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder were excluded. The assessment tools consisted of (1) a questionnaire that collected sociodemographic data and Instagram use variables and was created by the research team specifically for this study; (2) the self-esteem scale by Rosenberg; (3) Physical Appearance Comparison Scale-Revised (PACS-R); and (4) Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ). The recruitment and evaluation processes were carried out in January 2021.
ResultsOf the participants, 234 (234/585, 40%) used Instagram less than 1 hour a day, 303 (303/585, 51.8%) used Instagram between 1 hour and 3 hours a day, and 48 participants (48/585, 8.2%) used it more than 3 hours per day. We found statistically significant differences (P<.05) between the 3 groups in the scores obtained on the self-esteem test by Rosenberg, PACS-R, and BSQ. Participants who spent more time on Instagram had higher levels of body dissatisfaction, greater comparisons of physical appearance, and lower self-esteem. Moreover, we analyzed the relationship between the score obtained on the different scales and the types of content viewed, with no differences between those who mainly viewed professional content and those who primarily consumed fashion and beauty or sport and nutrition content.
ConclusionsThe results of this study indicate that the use of Instagram is associated with poorer body image satisfaction and self-esteem, mediated by the tendency to compare physical appearance in relation to the daily duration of Instagram use. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:40:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-65035895e8c44c339efcb99ae06e7763 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2561-326X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:40:21Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JMIR Formative Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-65035895e8c44c339efcb99ae06e77632023-08-28T23:51:35ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Formative Research2561-326X2023-04-017e4220710.2196/42207Time Spent on Instagram and Body Image, Self-esteem, and Physical Comparison Among Young Adults in Spain: Observational StudyIsabel Alfonso-Fuerteshttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-8372-4973Miguel Angel Alvarez-Monhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1987-0394Rafael Sanchez del Hoyohttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3462-4183Miguel A Ortegahttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2588-1708Melchor Alvarez-Monhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-1309-7510Rosa M Molina-Ruizhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-1551-2802 BackgroundInstagram is a social media platform based on photos and videos that encourages interaction and comparison between users. Its growing popularity, especially among young people, has generated interest in the impact its use can have on users´ mental health, specifically on their self-esteem and degree of satisfaction with their own body image. ObjectiveWe aimed to analyze the relationships between the use of Instagram, both the hours of daily use and the type of content viewed, and self-esteem, tendency to make physical comparisons, and satisfaction with body image. MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, we recruited 585 participants aged between 18 years and 40 years. Individuals who were interested in participating but had a personal history of eating disorders or had previously been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder were excluded. The assessment tools consisted of (1) a questionnaire that collected sociodemographic data and Instagram use variables and was created by the research team specifically for this study; (2) the self-esteem scale by Rosenberg; (3) Physical Appearance Comparison Scale-Revised (PACS-R); and (4) Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ). The recruitment and evaluation processes were carried out in January 2021. ResultsOf the participants, 234 (234/585, 40%) used Instagram less than 1 hour a day, 303 (303/585, 51.8%) used Instagram between 1 hour and 3 hours a day, and 48 participants (48/585, 8.2%) used it more than 3 hours per day. We found statistically significant differences (P<.05) between the 3 groups in the scores obtained on the self-esteem test by Rosenberg, PACS-R, and BSQ. Participants who spent more time on Instagram had higher levels of body dissatisfaction, greater comparisons of physical appearance, and lower self-esteem. Moreover, we analyzed the relationship between the score obtained on the different scales and the types of content viewed, with no differences between those who mainly viewed professional content and those who primarily consumed fashion and beauty or sport and nutrition content. ConclusionsThe results of this study indicate that the use of Instagram is associated with poorer body image satisfaction and self-esteem, mediated by the tendency to compare physical appearance in relation to the daily duration of Instagram use.https://formative.jmir.org/2023/1/e42207 |
| spellingShingle | Isabel Alfonso-Fuertes Miguel Angel Alvarez-Mon Rafael Sanchez del Hoyo Miguel A Ortega Melchor Alvarez-Mon Rosa M Molina-Ruiz Time Spent on Instagram and Body Image, Self-esteem, and Physical Comparison Among Young Adults in Spain: Observational Study JMIR Formative Research |
| title | Time Spent on Instagram and Body Image, Self-esteem, and Physical Comparison Among Young Adults in Spain: Observational Study |
| title_full | Time Spent on Instagram and Body Image, Self-esteem, and Physical Comparison Among Young Adults in Spain: Observational Study |
| title_fullStr | Time Spent on Instagram and Body Image, Self-esteem, and Physical Comparison Among Young Adults in Spain: Observational Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Time Spent on Instagram and Body Image, Self-esteem, and Physical Comparison Among Young Adults in Spain: Observational Study |
| title_short | Time Spent on Instagram and Body Image, Self-esteem, and Physical Comparison Among Young Adults in Spain: Observational Study |
| title_sort | time spent on instagram and body image self esteem and physical comparison among young adults in spain observational study |
| url | https://formative.jmir.org/2023/1/e42207 |
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