Abstract 

This paper presents the argument that the way Instagram functions results in users being put under pressure to produce unrealistically favourable views of their identity. The emphasis on ‘likes’ and ‘follows’ within the application are a major reason for this and encourage users to maintain an ideal self-presentation of themselves. The detrimental effects on users as a result of this pressure are also explored, where Instagram is ranked worst amongst a variety of social media sites in categories such as anxiety levels, depression levels, loneliness, sleep patterns and fear of missing out. It was also found that users have adjusted how they operate their Instagram accounts in an attempt to avoid constant comparison with their peers, through ‘fake instagrams’ and anonymous accounts. The findings of this paper clearly align with the concept of identity as it shows the way in which users express themselves on Instagram as people, and also the significant impact the application has on how people view themselves and their peers within society. 

Key Words: Instagram, identity, self-presentation, social media, people, comparison, 

Introduction

Instagram was created in 2010 and has gone on to maintain over 300 million users a month and average around 70 million new pictures every single day, according to statistics recorded in 2016 (Ferwerda, Schedl & Tkalcic, 2016). It functions primarily as a ‘photo-sharing’ application where users are driven to engage in self-presentation which is validated by their following in the form of ‘likes’ (Dumas, Maxwell-Smith, Davis & Giuletti, 2016). A variety of built-in features such as filters, tags and hashtags all increase the likelihood of receiving likes (Dumas et al. 2016), which becomes the centre of importance for its users. Due to its nature of self-promotion and validation-seeking, Instagram has seen a vast majority of its users participate in ‘like-seeking behaviour’ (Dumas et al. 2016). This results in users being highly selective of the content they post and attempting to portray an unrealistically favourable view of themselves to the public (Chua & Chang, 2015). It is clear that Instagram and in particular the attachment it creates to likes and follows, intensifies the principles of self-presentation and peer comparison (Chua & Chang, 2015). These can be detrimental to a person’s health and well-being, as Instagram’s environment of unrealistic expectations can result in feelings of inadequacy and low-self-esteem (Wiederhold, 2018). Because of this, users have also developed a variety of methods to avoid such comparison with peers, through the use of ‘fake instagrams’ (Wiederhold, 2018) and anonymous accounts (van der Nagel & Frith, 2015). It is clear that the way Instagram functions puts pressure on its users’ to produce unrealistically favourable views of their identity to showcase to other people, resulting in negative effects on users self-worth and self-esteem, as well as promoting social comparisons. 

Instagrams Emphasis on Likes and Follows 

Instagram is a social networking application that allows users to add photos to their individual profile which is displayed in a chronological order, thus creating a perception of the user that is made public to either their friends or the world (O’Donnell, 2018). It became popular due to its system that is based around gaining attention and validation from others through ‘likes’ and ‘follows’ (Dumas et al. 2016), which are what Chua and Chang (2015) refer to as the ‘tools’ of Instagram. Whilst these functions are present in a variety of other social networking sites, Instagram still differs in quite a significant way (Dumas et al. 2016). Most other social networking sites include other prominent features such as group chats, direct messages and created pages. Although some of these do exist within Instagram, the ‘primary’ and most participated activity on Instagram is to ‘share photos and short videos’ and to ‘engage in visual self-presentation of ones actual or ideal self’ (Hu, 2014, as cited by Dumas et al. 2016). With photo-sharing being arguably the most important element of Instagram, the application offers a range of features for its users to modify and distribute their photos/videos to a larger audience (Dumas et al. 2016), thus gaining more follows and likes. 

Functions Within Instagram To Increase Likes and Follows 

Instagram makes it significantly easier than other social networking sites to select a filter and apply it to an image (Wiederhold, 2018). There are 25 predefined photo filters that users can apply to their photos in an attempt to create a desired visual effect (Ferwerda, Schedl & Tkalcic, 2016), which is significant as ‘expressions of identity in digital spaces are often presented in visual form’ (O’Donnell, 2018). This use of filtering is one of the basic but fundamental features within Instagram that promotes the importance of self-presentation within the application. Users are also able to add hashtags to their photos which makes their content easier to find for the public (Dumas et al. 2016). These two features ultimately revolve around increasing ‘the likelihood of receiving likes,’ as they enable users to make photos more appealing through the use of filters and more widespread through the use of hashtags (Dumas et al. 2016). The way Instagram is set up also means that new users are automatically introduced into a larger community (Livingstone, 2008 as cited by Dumas et al. 2016), which facilitates comparisons amongst users in regards to both follows and likes (Chua & Chang, 2015). When celebrities and regular citizens are displayed in succession on a feed with no real way to determine which ‘posting groups’ they belong too, it is only natural that regular citizens will compare their identity on Instagram to that of celebrities. The way Instagram operates in this regard boasts a competitive environment amongst its users, pressuring people into posting only the best of themselves in an attempt to keep up with their peers, which in many cases is unrealistic. 

The Pressure For Users To Produce Unrealistically Favourable Views of Their Identity 

Due to Instagram’s emphasis on likes and follows, as well as the variety of functions that it offers for users to gain higher numbers in these categories, it is clear that its users are put under pressure to produce unrealistically favourable views of their identity. When people post on Instagram, they are putting their identities on public display for others to evaluate (O’Donnell, 2018), with their amount of likes and follows being perceived as an indication of their self-worth and also need for self-improvement (Chua & Chang, 2015). With the ability to scroll through feeds that are filled with a ‘seemingly-endless barrage of images’ of other peoples best lives, it’s only natural to question your own life and attempt to present an ideal version of yourself (Wiederhold, 2018). This is made even more significant when considering the lives that celebrities, models and notable personalities share on their profiles, presenting a lifestyle that is perfect from the outside but unattainable in reality (Wiederhold, 2018). With all these factors existing as a core part of Instagram, it is expected that most users are going to be impacted and pressured into replicating what they see from other users. 

Self-Presentation on Instagram 

Around 25% of all Instagram posts are focused solely on ‘self-presentation’ (Dumas et al. 2016). Self-presentation on Instagram is the primary method that users apply when attempting to project their ideal self, as it gives them the ability to ‘construct their own persona online’ (Chua & Chang, 2015). Through self-presentation, users are able to post and convey only what they ‘feel is the best in themselves’, and in doing so, create an identity that complies with the standards of their peers (Chua & Chang, 2015). The result of this is a social environment where users negotiate their self-presentation efforts in order to achieve the standards they see amongst their peers (Chua & Chang, 2015). 

Like-Seeking Behaviour on Instagram 

Another common practice amongst many users of Instagram is like-seeking behaviour, which also stems from this pressure to produce favourable views of oneself. Evidence has suggested that like-seeking behaviours, such as uploading a photo at a certain time of the day and filtering photos to be portrayed as more attractive, are both activities that many emerging adults take part in (Dumas et al. 2016). These practices show the willingness many Instagram users have to take extreme measures to ensure their social identity is looked upon highly by their peers, which is a result of the pressure they are under due to the way Instagram functions. Emerging adults are also taking part in like-seeking behaviours that can be considered deceptive, such as buying likes and follows from secondary sources, as well as ‘likes-for-likes’, which is where users attempt to raise the chance of receiving likes by liking the content of other users (Dumas et al. 2016). Two separate studies were able to conclude respectively, that 90.7% and 95.5% of the Instagram users that participated in the studies have performed at least one like-seeking behaviour (Dumas et al. 2016). In these cases, users can be considered as deceptive in presenting themselves, as they are fostering a false impression about their posts (Dumas et al. 2016). As long as Instagram operates in a way where likes and follows increase a persons status in society, it can only be expected that people will be pressured to achieve greater numbers in these categories, which is a practice that can have a detrimental effect on Instagram users. 

Implications For Instagram Users

When delving into the implications of a social network that pressures its users into sustaining this unrealistically favourable view of their identity, negative outcomes regarding self-worth and social comparisons were made the most evident. Whilst it is known that many peer-to-peer social networks are detrimental to ones health, none are quite at the level of Instagram when looking at its negative effects on people’s well-being (Wiederhold, 2018). A survey comparing a multitude of social media networks ranked Instagram as having the worst impacts on its users anxiety levels, depression levels, loneliness, sleep patterns and fear of missing out (Blair, 2017). When comparing Instagram to specific social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, the former is ‘uniquely poised to set unrealistic expectations, feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem’ (Wiederhold, 2018). Based on Mary Sherlock and Danielle L. Wagstaff’s (2018) findings, this is due to Instagram functioning as an image-based platform that promotes self-presentation, which is vital to Instagram and the peer comparison that spawns as a result of it (Chua & Chang, 2015). Although these principles do exist on many social media networks, they are vastly enhanced and intensified due to the way Instagram functions (Chua & Chang, 2015). The pressure that users have to receive likes, comments and follows can result in ‘high anxiety’ and ‘social pressures’ (Wiederhold, 2018), as users often perceive their numbers of likes and followers as an indication of the amount of self-improvement needed (O’Donnell, 2018). Because of this, individuals attempt to portray the best versions of themselves to their peers and subtly govern their behaviours to meet the expectations of society in an attempt to maintain an acceptable identity (O’Donnell, 2018). This concept of people only uploading positive and idealistic portrayals of themselves (Sherlock & Wagstaff, 2018) has a variety of detrimental effects on Instagram users. Firstly, people tend to feel like they are ‘missing out’ or believe that ‘everyone is doing better’ than themselves, which is a negative social comparison spawning from the online identities of others (Sherlock & Wagstaff, 2018). Secondly, this leads individuals to rate themselves as ‘less attractive’, jeopardising peoples feelings of self-worth (Sherlock & Wagstaff, 2018). The unattainable and idealistic standards that are shared across Instagram are harmful to most users as many of these ideals are unrealistic (Sherlock & Wagstaff, 2018). These social comparisons pressure people into replicating these ideals on their own profiles, where it was found that continued comparisons led to depressive systems, general anxiety, appearance anxiety, self-esteem and body disturbance (Sherlock & Wagstaff, 2018). 

The Creation of ‘Fake Instagrams’ 

Due to the pressure that Instagram puts on its users to sustain a profile that is unrealistically favourable, there are numerous detrimental effects that spawn from it which have led Instagram users to try new methods in an attempt to escape the unrealistic expectations of their peers. This pressure has led to the creation of ‘finstas’ or ‘fake Instagrams’, where users limit their following to only a small group of friends and post content that goes against the majority of Instagrams ideal self-presentation (Wiederhold, 2018). Examples of this content includes ‘unflattering selfies’, ‘random photos’ and ‘private confessions’ which aren’t designed to attract a high number of likes (Wiederhold, 2018). This can be seen as one of the natural responses many people have to the discomfort and various detrimental effects of operating an Instagram profile based on self-presentation. 

The Use of Anonymity 

Another method developed by users of Instagram is the option to maintain an anonymous persona through their accounts. Instagram unlike many other social media networks, allows users to ‘communicate through an identity that does not include their real name’ (van der Nagel & Frith, 2015). Bernie Hogan (2013) argues that this spawns from peoples interest in exploring different identities, and it enables them to avoid the ‘context collapse’ that arises from operating an account under a persons real name (van der Nagel & Frith, 2015). This ‘context collapse’ can be described as the merging of previously discrete groups, for example operating an Instagram page that ‘friends, co-workers, ex-partners and family’ all follow (van der Nagel & Frith, 2015). The benefits of anonymity and separate accounts in this case, are that they rule out the pressures regarding what is appropriate and inappropriate to share about oneself on social media (Mascheroni, Vincent & Jimenez, 2015). Although this is beneficial at face value, the principal and importance of gaining likes and follows is once again a major factor in how users operate in this manner on Instagram. Evidence has shown that in an attempt to manage their self-presentation, teenage boys and girls have a tendency to eroticise their content in the form of posting semi-naked selfies (Mascheroni, Vincent & Jimenez, 2015), an act that is only encouraged by the availability of operating an anonymous account. Having these anonymous persona’s complicates the idea of users self-presentation and also impression management, being the way in which ‘they deal with others responses’ (Mascheroni, Vincent & Jimenez, 2015), as they are no longer confined to their real name. This means that the content users are willing to post in an effort to gain follows and likes can be endless in terms of the self-exposure it places on the user. 

Conclusion

Overall, the key features of Instagram such as likes, follows, filters and hashtags are all centred around giving users a greater chance to gain more likes and create a larger following. The setup of Instagrams news feed which contains celebrities, influencers and regular citizens in one stream is a function that promotes social comparison and places a value on users likes and follows. This places users in a difficult position as they are pressured to maintain an identity that is favourable and to portray to friends that they are happy. This becomes a challenge for people when the majority of users are doing the same thing, and the ability to keep up with peers becomes unrealistic. As a result of this, studies have proven Instagram to be the most detrimental social network in terms of its levels of social comparisons and outcomes on user’s well-being (Blair, 2017). Depression levels, anxiety, and low self-esteem are all complications that arise as a result of the social comparisons that take place on Instagram. In an attempt to avoid these negative outcomes, users have gravitated towards new methods to portray their identity. These include the use of ‘fake instagrams’ which allows users to post unfiltered content without the restraint of maintaining a favourable identity, and anonymous accounts where the concept of ‘context collapse’ fails to exist, meaning users can post whatever content they desire in attempt to gain likes and follows. 

References 

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