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More than a billion people use Instagram, spending an estimated average of 30 minutes per day on the image-heavy platform ( eMarketer, 2020). But researchers know very little about how Instagram affects the mental health of its users.

Facebook's internal studies, published by The Wall Street Journal in September, point to how the app may harm teens, including worsening body image concerns for 1 in 3 teenage girls, but that data is correlational and self-reported. The same is true for much of the research in the field, which is in its early stages but starting to accelerate, including experimental studies, longitudinal analyses, and fMRI efforts.

"It's quite hard to replicate the many different interactions between comments and likes, known and unknown people," said Jasmine Fardouly, PhD, a psychology researcher who studies social media use and body image at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. "Everyone's experience on Instagram is slightly different-and we're only just starting to get at some of the nuances."

Still, there is plenty of cause for concern. Studies have linked Instagram to depression, body image concerns, self-esteem issues, social anxiety, and other problems. By design, the app capitalizes on users' biological drive for social belonging-and nudges them to keep on scrolling.

"There's something about the interactions occurring on social media that makes them qualitatively different from in-person interactions," some of which are intentionally part of the way apps are designed, said Mitch Prinstein, APA's chief science officer. "This introduces risks that were not there before, which are causing harm as a result."

How use affects mental health

Part of what makes Instagram problematic is its addictive nature. Unlike a magazine, television show, or video game, the platform rarely delivers "stopping cues"-or gentle nudges that prompt users to move on to a different activity, said psychologist Adam Alter, PhD, a professor of marketing at New York University's Stern School of Business. Instead, it continually serves up content, driving users back to the top of their feeds to repeat the descent.

"Instagram, like many tech platforms, is designed to be bottomless, and you don't have to do much to access that bottomless content. Just keep scrolling," he said.

Social interactions also play out in different ways, said Jacqueline Nesi, PhD, an assistant professor of psychology at Brown University, because quantified measures of status-likes, views, and comments-tend to remain visible in perpetuity and can be viewed anytime, anywhere, and often by anyone (Psychological Inquiry, Vol. 21, No. 3, 2020).

Perhaps surprisingly, spending hours at a time on Instagram is not unilaterally harmful. One of the field's most robust findings is that raw time spent on social media has little to no effect on psychopathology (Odgers, C. L., & Jensen, M. R., The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, Vol. 61, No. 3, 2020). Instead, the way people engage with the app appears to be what can impact mental health.

"Specific social media experiences are much more important than overall time spent on the platforms," said Sophia Choukas-Bradley, PhD, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Delaware who studies adolescent mental health.

In particular, Instagram users who engage in digital status seeking (looking for popularity online) and social comparison (evaluating oneself in relation to others) tend to experience negative psychological outcomes. Such behaviors have been linked to increases in depressive symptoms, social anxiety, and body image concerns across age groups, as well as decreases in self-esteem (Sherlock, M., & Wagstaff, D. L., Psychology of Popular Media, Vol. 8, No. 4, 2019; Cohen, R., et al., , Vol. 23, 2017).

Upward social comparison in particular is extremely common on Instagram, said Fardouly. Users evaluate their own life alongside curated-and often edited-images of others (, Vol. 20, 2017). Because users tend to follow both people they know personally and people they've never met, the app also blurs the boundaries between peers and celebrities, Choukas-Bradley said. That can lead to false social comparison when users contrast their appearance with idealized images ( PsyArXiv Preprints, 2021).

Posting edited "selfies" on apps like Instagram is also correlated with disordered eating behavior. In one study of 2,475 undergraduate students led by doctoral student Madeline Wick and her advisor, Pamela Keel, PhD, a psychology professor at Florida State University, 1 in 3 women said they edited images to alter their weight or shape before posting photos on Instagram. That practice was associated with an increased likelihood of a probable eating disorder. The study also found a causal relationship between posting edited photos and body image concerns (International Journal of Eating Disorders,Vol. 53, No. 6, 2020; Cohen, R., et al., Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 79, 2018).

These behaviors tend to be more prevalent among younger users compared with older ones, and in women compared with men (Saiphoo, A. N., & Vahedi, Z., Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 101, 2019; , Vol. 33, 2020). Though men and boys are less likely to use Instagram for social comparison and status seeking, those who do experience a similar level of harm to women and girls (Lonergan, A. R., et al., " Social media and eating and body image concerns among men and boys" in Eating Disorders in Boys and Men, 2021; International Journal of Eating Disorders, Vol. 53, No. 6, 2020).

The research is also clear that this is not just a problem for teens. Adults who use the app and are prone to social comparison consistently face problems with social anxiety, self-esteem, and mood (Jiang, S. & Ngien, A., Social Media + Society, Vol. 6, No. 2, 2020; Midgley, C., et al., Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 121, No. 2, 2021).

While much of this data is correlational, researchers are starting to test Instagram use experimentally, said Sarah Diefenbach, a professor at the Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich in Germany who holds a doctoral degree in psychology. For example, when participants in one study viewed either appearance-conscious photos from fitness, modeling, and beauty Instagram accounts or control photos from nature, food, and home-décor accounts, those in the former condition experienced increases in negative mood and anxiety (Kohler, M. T., et al., Psychology of Popular Media, Vol. 10, No. 3, 2021). Another experiment found that viewing retouched Instagram selfies, versus unedited ones, directly harmed body image in teenage girls (Kleemans, M., Media Psychology, Vol. 21, No. 1, 2018).

As those findings imply, Instagram users can attempt to curate their feeds to be less harmful, for instance by muting or unfollowing accounts that post idealized content and following those that promote diversity. In one experiment led by Fardouly and Rachel Cohen, PhD, a clinical psychologist based in Australia, women who viewed "body positive" posts-which promote acceptance of diverse body types-reported improved mood, body satisfaction, and body appreciation (New Media & Society, Vol. 21, No. 7, 2019). However, a content analysis of body positive accounts led by Jennifer Harriger, PhD, an associate professor of psychology at Pepperdine University, found that 8% of posts still reinforced thin beauty ideals, for instance by encouraging dieting to change one's appearance (, Vol. 34, 2020).

"The body positivity movement is a great example of a user-based initiative that leverages social media to promote diversity and effect positive change," said Keel, a co-author on the content analysis. "But people still need to be critical consumers of what they're viewing."

Instagram in adolescence

As some of the most voracious users of image-heavy social media platforms, including Instagram, teens have been a major focus of research ( Teens, Social Media & Technology 2018, Pew Research Center). Facebook's internal studies of more than 22,000 users indicate that adolescents face challenges with social comparison, social pressure, and negative peer interactions on Instagram-and that "teens who struggle with mental health say Instagram makes it worse" ( Hard Life Moments-Mental Health Deep Dive, Facebook, 2021).

Still, most teens report that social media makes them feel more connected to their friends, more included, and more confident, which suggests that online experiences are often multidimensional ( Teens' Social Media Habits and Experiences, Pew Research Center, 2018; Pouwels, J. L., et al., Developmental Psychology, Vol. 57, No. 2, 2021).

"Peer relationships are absolutely essential for kids' well-being and social media use is now a primary source of those relationships," Choukas-Bradley said. "It can present both risks and benefits at the same time."

For example, transgender and gender diverse adolescents often use Instagram and other platforms to learn about sexual health and identity and to form community with other LGBTQ teens, according to research by Choukas-Bradley and her colleagues (Psychology of Sexual Orientation, 2021). Social media can be particularly important for LGBTQ teens in rural areas who may lack role models in their communities (Escobar-Viera, C. G., et al., JMIR Mental Health, Vol. 5, No. 3, 2018).

However, transgender and gender diverse teens also report being victimized on social media because of their gender identities-and teens who are bullied on social media report high levels of depression and suicidal thoughts and behaviors (Hamm, M. P., et al., JAMA Pediatrics, Vol. 169, No. 8, 2015; Nesi, J., et al., Clinical Psychology Review, Vol. 87, 2021). Researchers are also starting to document the interaction between online and offline bullying, especially for people of color, and are finding that teens who face offline racial discrimination are more likely to face online discrimination down the line (Lozada, F. T. , et al., Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, Vol. 27, No. 3, 2021).

Adolescents are both powerfully drawn to social media-and particularly vulnerable to it-partly because of their biological drive for popularity and connection, Prinstein said. Areas of the brain linked to social rewards develop a significant increase in dopamine and oxytocin receptors during adolescence, which motivates teens to seek approval from their peers-right around the same time many teens gain access to Instagram and other image-conscious apps.

"Kids have a biological vulnerability to want social rewards, and now we're handing them a way to get it-on steroids," he said.

That drive for approval bears out in experimental research, too. In a series of studies led by developmental psychologist Hae Yeon Lee, PhD, of Yale-NUS College in Singapore, teens who received fewer "likes" in a simulated social media interaction similar to Instagram reported more negative emotions and thoughts about themselves, especially if they were already victimized by peers at school (Child Development, Vol. 91, No. 6, 2020).

An fMRI study led by psychologist Lauren Sherman, PhD, also found that teens had increased activation in reward-associated regions of the brain when viewing Instagram-like photos with more "likes." When viewing Instagram-like photos showing risky behaviors such as drinking and smoking, teens had decreased activation in areas of the brain linked to inhibition, including the prefrontal cortex (Psychological Science, Vol. 27, No. 7, 2016). (Sherman now works for Instagram, doing user experience research.)

The main takeaway from existing research, said Choukas-Bradley, is not to keep teens off Instagram and other social apps. Instead, it's a more nuanced understanding that some behaviors that occur online, like social comparison, are harmful, while others, like intimacy and connection with peers, are a part of healthy and normative development.

"Our question now is: How can we decrease time spent on experiences that confer risk, and increase time spent on things we know to be protective?" she said.

Improving Instagram use

Unlike medications or cigarettes, social media platforms don't come with warning labels, said Keel. But since Instagram's internal research leaked to the public in September, there's an increasing recognition that caution may be warranted when engaging with the platform. Alter recommends spending several hours at a time away from the app, either by leaving one's phone in another room, activating airplane mode, or turning off notifications.

Concerned parents should avoid banning or overly restricting social media use among teens, Fardouly says, but instead have discussions with their children about harms and benefits. Start that discussion with open-ended questions, for example by asking kids how they feel when viewing different types of content and whether the images they see are real or edited. Encouraging critical thinking about material posted online can also help, because research suggests that kids and teens with strong media literacy skills struggle less with self-esteem and body image issues ( Media Education and Body Image, Media Smarts, 2018).

"Adults can also model healthier behavior on Instagram by unfollowing people who post idealized content, following content unrelated to appearance, and spending less time on the app overall," Fardouly said.

Future studies of Instagram should focus on testing Instagram's effects on mental health experimentally and longitudinally, said Nesi. Researchers are now moving toward studying individual differences in usage and conducting experiments with more diverse samples, and away from questions about raw time spent on the app.

"We also need to develop constructs that allow us to understand how adolescents use social media more broadly, because their preferred platforms change so rapidly," said Choukas-Bradley. Instagram has already lost traction with teens, who tend to prefer TikTok and Snapchat ( Taking Stock with Teens, Piper Sandler, 2021).

Instagram and other platforms can bolster these efforts, researchers say, with more collaboration and data sharing. APA is engaged in advocacy efforts to increase transparency into the company's massive internal datasets and to increase federal funding for studying the mental health effects of social media use.

"Different people use social media in very different ways," Nesi said. "We need to understand what factors make some people more sensitive to experiences they have online-and how those experiences might impact psychological problems in the future."

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How can we minimize Instagram's harmful effects?

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More than a billion people use Instagram, spending an estimated average of 30 minutes per day on the image-heavy platform ( eMarketer, 2020). But researchers know very little about how Instagram affects the mental health of its users.

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Due to the increasingly blurred line between social media and reality, how an individual presents themselves online tends to be an extension of their real self.

However, people often lean toward constructing an online narrative embodying how they want to be perceived by others rather than who they really are. Teenagers, in particular, attempt to appeal to whatever group under which they wish to be categorized.

According to a study conducted by Pew Research Center , in 2018, 97% of 13-17-year olds use social media platforms like Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok. Through these apps, viral trends become increasingly more appealing to teenagers.

Notably, TikTok promotes a significant number of trends. A video about fashion, food or even a particular sound or video format going viral instantly causes a ripple effect. Regardless of whether it is a new pair of Zara jeans or the now infamous tomato and feta pasta, trends move from the internet to reality within days.

Trends create a culture of conformity; if one doesn't stay up to date with what's "in," they are quickly categorized as "other." Extending beyond social media, people who wear certain clothing or listen to music that isn't considered relevant to today's trends are instantly judged. Rather than choosing what to wear or how to act based on personal preference, people tend to rely upon trends and external perceptions.

Trends create a culture of conformity; if one doesn't stay up to date with what's "in," they are quickly categorized as "other."

Additionally, social media limits individuality by allowing nearly everyone access to a shared drive of background knowledge.

Returning to the viral nature of TikTok, a popular sound or video will quickly trickle into daily behaviour. Mannerisms, dances and phrases from the app become mainstream. In this way, everyone starts to act the same.

Social media is often referred to as a highlight reel. However, this "highlight reel" is not just a random summary of personal highs; it is carefully curated to fit the aesthetic or group that individuals want to represent. As a result, it has become common to form perceptions and assumptions about an individual based on their online presence.

Whether someone posts C4-filtered group pictures, blurry mirror selfies or shots of them on the sports field, we classify them according to their Instagram aesthetic and judge accordingly. The individual disappears into the collective.

We've seen this on a higher scale than Instagram profiles: political climates have become increasingly polarized because one's online activity leads them to only interact in spaces that constantly echo their opinions, leaving very little room for nuance or discussion. In turn, this leads to greater radicalization and normalizes writing people off due to their political views.

Students should recognize how social media has influenced the way they present themselves and perceive others. As the pool of information that we have access to becomes more and more uniform, it is critical for one to develop their beliefs and personality independent of online influences.

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Due to the increasingly blurred line between social media and reality, how an individual presents themselves online tends to be an extension of their real self. However, people often lean toward constructing an online narrative embodying how they want to be perceived by others rather than who they really are.

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Among the problems plaguing this generation and the generations to come, one of the most frightening is a rapid decline in individuality. People are becoming more susceptible to things considered trendy or acceptable in the public eye. This increase in conformity is a result of various social media people are being introduced to at increasingly younger ages.

An article from The Independent by Grace Fearon supports the idea that social media is a direct cause of decreased individuality among young people.

" Yet, far from a true reflection of our character," writes Fearon, "perhaps our identity within society can become a carefully constructed illusion. Think about your own social media accounts , for instance - are they an honest representation of yourself? Or are you, perhaps, even unwittingly creating an image that is socially enhancing, one that will allow you to be perceived as popular or well-liked?" From my personal experience this can ring very true as I've noticed people close to me change to conform to a societal expectation.

When people want to appear successful and be accepted by society and everyone around them, it's easy to get caught up in the mix of wanting to appear a certain way. This can make people lose touch with who they really are and what really pleases them. A cause of the increase in conformity lies in the availability of social media. It's incredibly easy to access and view, making social media the perfect outlet for spreading information to a much broader audience.

" By 2011, approximately 83% of 500 companies were using some form of social media to connect with consumers. Furthermore, surveys suggest that consumers are increasingly relying on social media to learn about unfamiliar brands," according to the American Marketing Association (AMA) journal. Social media can make information more accessible but it can also shape much deeper issues such as appearance and sexuality.

A blog called the "Literary Blues" by Tristan Naraine goes further into this idea, raising important issues about what social media potentiates. Naraine talks about how with popular social figures and celebrities, there are indirect social constructs being built around a person's appearance and their gender that pushes norms on younger audiences by providing images of what can be interpreted to be "good" or "ideal." This information is broadcast on many social media outlets making the pictures, tweets, and information readily available to anyone who uses the platform. The target audience is anyone and everyone.

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Among the problems plaguing this generation and the generations to come, one of the most frightening is a rapid decline in individuality. People are becoming more susceptible to things considered trendy or acceptable in the public eye. This increase in conformity is a result of various social media people are being introduced to at increasingly...