abstract

This paper explores how Instagram significantly alters user identities by increasing self-consciousness and the need for online validation. Drawing on psychological studies, sociological theories, and real-world examples, it argues that Instagram’s visual and interactive features, such as likes, comments, and curated profiles, contribute to a shift from authentic self-expression to performance-driven identity. Grounded in Goffman’s concept of the “presentation of self,” the analysis shows how Instagram users often present idealised versions of themselves, leading to social comparison, heightened self-awareness, and mental health challenges. The paper also considers the impact of influencers, trends, and online communities on identity formation, noting both negative consequences (loss of authenticity, collective identity) and positive potentials (self-expression, community connection). Ultimately, it concludes that while Instagram facilitates new forms of social interaction and identity-building, it also reinforces pressures for approval and perfection, prompting users to constantly adjust their sense of self in response to feedback from their digital audiences.

#SelfConscious: How Instagram Rewrites and Destroys Identity

On average, people spend 32.4 minutes on Instagram, posting, curating, and consuming identities (Instagram Statistics 2025: Key Demographic and User Numbers, 2023). Identity is a sense of self or who you are, but on social media sites, it is “not something that is merely self-contained; it is a product of social interaction, constructed and maintained in the context of the larger network” (Boyd, 2011). In a time where social media is a large and growing part of everyday life, users are not just updating followers on their daily lives and receiving content but impacting their identities. Instagram was originally an “application that enabled users to check in with each other, share plans, and share photos” (Gilliard, Baalbaki-Yassine, & Hoffman, 2023). Instagram allows people to create an online identity or persona through the application’s multiple features, including photo and video sharing on posts and stories. Also, the ability to send messages, comment, and ‘like’ other users and their posts is featured, where a ‘Like’ shows your interest or approval. In 2024, Instagram averaged around 2 billion monthly users, highlighting its success and relevance in current society (Gilliard, Baalbaki-Yassine, & Hoffman, 2023). But Instagram is not all positive; the application leads users to mental health challenges, especially in today’s younger generation. Instagram has substantially altered users’ identities by increasing self-consciousness and the need for validation online. This paper follows psychological studies, real-world examples, and current trends of Instagram to argue that the issue of growing mental health problems of self-consciousness and the need for validation is apparent in people’s identities, leading to problems among users.

The role of social media in identity formation is a widely researched topic that has been growing rapidly in the last decade. Still, ideas of people curating their identity have been apparent for years. In the 1950s, Erving Goffman created the concept of ‘presentation of self’, arguing that people act to uphold a certain presentation of self or identity (Goffman, 1959). This is still extremely visible today, but this idea is being heightened due to social media and its users’ power to curate their identities. In general, social media allows people to create their own online identity, where most highlight desirable traits and hide perceived negatives about themselves. Comparisons are created between someone’s real identity and another user’s idealised identity, where self-consciousness and the need for validation stem from altering identities. Instagram is different to other social media platforms due to its original focus on images, which has now created attention towards making an idealised profile and an online culture where the more ‘likes’ a post has, the more desirable that person is, as well as promoting ongoing engagement. A study done in Singapore highlighted that as Instagram use increased, social comparison heightened among users, leading to a change to a more self-conscious identity (Jiang & Ngien, 2020).

All social media platforms, including Instagram, promote the need to create a profile depicting the idealised version of yourself. The ability to constantly curate this online persona leads to growing self-consciousness in users’ identities today. A self-conscious identity “involves a heightened awareness of oneself in relation to others, which can lead to a preoccupation with one’s appearance and behavior, and a tendency to modify one’s actions to meet the expectations of others” (Pennebaker & Roberts, 1992). Self-consciousness in identity leads to growing stress levels and potential loss of authenticity in oneself. Instagram is not the only platform, but it is one of the first whose culture heavily relies on the ‘Likes’ feature. Much research has highlighted that the larger amount of ‘likes’ a post achieves plays an essential part in forming how someone feels about themselves, leading to a change in identity (Seibel, 2019). Instagram also focuses on visuals, including images and videos in posts. (Seibel, 2019) “By posting an image of themself, a user is communicating how they wish to see themself as well as how they wish for others to perceive them.” Therefore, comparisons are made between users and their real selves as well as users and other users, which includes friends, family, influences, or celebrities. When other users have the power to express an idealised version of themselves on platforms, users compare themselves to an unrealistic standard, which leads to increased self-consciousness foreseeable in their identities (Vogel et al., 2014). A real-world study by Voggenreiter et al. (2023) backs this up. Although this study was conducted on Facebook, many similar features are used, including ‘likes’, and somewhat of a visual focus was used. In the study, participants used social media platforms over a week, where researchers manipulated the numbers of likes, and daily checks on self-esteem and emotions were analysed (Voggenreiter et al., 2023). The study results showed that 46% of participants receiving no likes blamed themselves and believed “Because my posts were [not] interesting/creative”, and there was increased self-consciousness. The study found that “When inspecting the situational self-esteem, participants receiving few likes reported significantly lower levels of self-esteem during the social media interaction on Fakebook than participants receiving many likes” (Voggenreiter et al., 2023). Instagram’s features of ‘likes, a focus on visuals and creating an idealised profile led to increased self-consciousness and comparisons to an unrealistic standard, creating an increasingly self-conscious identity filled with stress and loss of authenticity. 

Social media platforms have become increasingly successful by promoting constant attention and creating users who seek validation through the platform to keep them coming back. The feedback users receive on posts comes from many places, ranging from likes to follower counts, influencing their perception of themselves and their identities. This validation they receive is bad for identities because it can create a loss of authenticity as people change to fit cultural norms. Instagram’s specific features contributing to the growing need for validation users have included Likes, shares, re-posts on stories, comments, and direct messages (Seibel, 2019). Instagram has noticed how people and identities are negatively affected by likes and similar features and removed it in some countries in a test period where “the company has explained that they don’t want Instagram to feel like a competition” (Diefenbach & Anders, 2021). When users’ need for validation increases, identity can be viewed as more performative and has a loss of authenticity over their true selves; many studies back up that Adolescent social network users’ reported self-esteem rose when their profile received good comments less authentic but fell when it received negative input (Diefenbach & Anders, 2021). A real-world study was done in 2024, and 74 students currently using Instagram participated. The participants had their Instagram usage and data tracked, and results highlighted that when less positive feedback, including likes and comments, was received, lower self-esteem was visible on surveys (Zulfianti et al., 2024). Further backing this up, a similar study with Indonesian students states that the “survey showed that 78% of 9,477 participants were aware of the behaviour of Instagram users who delete photos if they do not get many likes. This shows that many Instagram users want to share and seek likes as a form of self-validation” (Putri & Kuncoro, 2023). Studies show that users of Instagram have an increased need to seek validation on the platform, whether that be likes, comments, or any other features of the Instagram program. This increase creates the potential to change people to less authentic identities online, as well as increase mental health problems.

Instagram has many other ways it shapes and changes identities, mostly because identity is constantly changing; it is fluid, not rigid. Some other smaller ways identities are being shaped and changed are through influences and trends online. Marwick (2015) says, “Influencers are individuals who have built a reputation for their knowledge and expertise on a specific topic, and who leverage their social media following to promote brands, products, or lifestyles”. A study conducted in 2020 highlighted how flexible people’s identities are when reacting to influencers online (Zhao & Pei, 2020). Zhao and Pei (2020) found that as interaction with influenced content increased, the adoption of certain features of identities was shared, which means you could argue this creates less authentic versions of a user’s identity. Similarly, trends on social media platforms play a part in the curation of identities. Instagram highlights elements of people’s identities, like how they present themselves in posts, including their clothes and fashion. Social media platforms like Instagram reels or other short-form content programs like TikTok greatly influence people’s fashion identities (Danziger, 2021). Danziger (2021) argues that social media sites are personally ruining identity as users follow trends, and there is one collective style. A real-world example is the rise of baggy jeans in the last 3 years; the trend has skyrocketed, hitting its peak now due to the influence of social media and trends. Social media allows flexible identities to change quickly online, whether through influences or recent trends. Therefore, creating what some can argue is a less authentic version of oneself and more of a collective identity.

As just mentioned, there are many criticisms of Instagram. How it affects people’s identities, raising issues of self-consciousness, loss of authenticity and limited variation, but there are arguments for positives. Instagram also allows people to express their identity to a much larger audience. Social media sites like Instagram can also create positivity and increase self-awareness because they reinforce growth and reflection by constantly curating profiles and posts (Toma, 2014). People can also create and build upon their identity by connecting with others with similar interests, whether that be recent movements or hobbies in online groups (Baker & Algorta, 2016). These groups and movements can include real-world examples, including #StudnetLife. This hashtag on social media platforms allows people to view content related to Australian students’ lives. It encourages students to express positive identities in a safe environment filled with people going through similar experiences (Instagram, 2010).

Boyd (2011) highlights that identity on social media platforms is “not merely self-contained; it is a product of social interaction, constructed and maintained in the context of the larger network,” identity is fluid and forever changing. To conclude, Instagram’s specific features of being the visual focus, reactions to posts, emphasis on creating an idealised profile, trends have led to changes in the identity of users, such as, loss of authenticity, self-consciousness, and influences more collective online identity. A study around a large demographic following Instagram highlighted that when there was increased use of the platform and decreased interaction and validation, negatives in identity were visible, like self-consciousness and the need for validation. There are arguments for the positive effect of Instagram on changing identity, including self-expression, identity building, and communities. However, research highlights that social media sites like Instagram greatly impact people’s identities. Goffman’s (1959) ideas around identity are still highly relatable in today’s growing digital world. Social media is “pushing individuals to construct and perform multiple identities. While this offers opportunities for expression, it also risks diminishing authentic self-representation, leaving many to navigate the complexities of online validation and curated perceptions”(Marwick, 2015)

References

-Boyd, D. (2011). A networked self: Identity, community, and culture on social network sites (Z. Papacharissi, Ed.; pp. 303-310). Routledge.

– Danziger, P. N. (2021). Influence of fashion micro-trends on social media: Instagram and the rise of the trend cycle. Journal of Consumer Culture, 21(3), 441-460. https://panthernow.com/2024/08/15/fashion-micro-trends-are-killing-our-identities

-Diefenbach, S., & Anders, L. (2021). The psychology of likes: Relevance of feedback on Instagram and relationship to self-esteem and social status. Psychology of Popular Media, 11(2). https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000360

-Gilliard, D., Baalbaki-Yassine, S., & Lynn Hoffman, D. (2023). Instagram. Journal of Marketing Development and Competitiveness, 17(4), 1-8. https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/instagram/docview/2909093851/se-2

– Goffman, E. (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Doubleday.

– Instagram. (2010, October 6). Instagram. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com

– Instagram Statistics 2025: Key Demographic and User Numbers. (2023, December 19). Backlinko. https://backlinko.com/instagram-users?

– Jiang, S., & Ngien, A. (2020). The Effects of Instagram Use, Social Comparison, and Self-Esteem on Social Anxiety: A Survey Study in Singapore. Social Media + Society, 6(2), 1–10. sagepub. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305120912488

– Marwick, A. E. (2015). Instafame: Luxury selfies in the attention economy. Public Culture, 27(1), 137-160.

– Pennebaker, J. W., & Roberts, T. A. (1992). Toward a deeper understanding of social and emotional behavior: The role of self-consciousness. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 11(2), 118–134. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.1992.11.2.118

-Putri, D. A., & Kuncoro, J. (2023). The relationship between self-esteem and self-consciousness with self-presentation among social media users. Jurnal Ilmiah Sultan Agung, 2(1), 216–225.

-Seibel, B. (2019). Insta-Identity: The Construction of Identity Through Instagram. University Honors Theses.

https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1841&context=honorstheses

– Toma, C. L. (2014). Counting on friends: Cues to perceived trustworthiness in Facebook profiles. Computers in Human Behavior, 35, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.02.055

– Vogel, E. A., Rose, J. P., Roberts, L. R., & Eckles, K. (2014). Social comparison, social media, and self-esteem. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 3(4), 206–222. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000047

-Voggenreiter, A., Brandt, S., Putterer, F., Frings, A., & Pfeffer, J. (2023). The Role of Likes: How Online Feedback Impacts Users’ Mental Health. ArXiv (Cornell University). https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2312.11914

– Zhao, X., & Pei, W. (2020). Influence of social media influencers on the perception of consumer identity. Journal of Consumer Research, 47(5), 832-847. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucaa014

-Zulfianti, I., Sukmarini, A. V., & Djalil, N. A. (2024). The Effect of “Likes, Comments and Share” Feedback on Instagram on Self-Esteem of English Study Program. Journal La Sociale, 4(5), 469–488. https://doi.org/10.37899/journal-la-sociale.v4i5.1951