For teenagers, Instagram is not just a social platform but a cultural environment where norms and identities are shaped. Both girls and boys are influenced by appearance-focused content and popularity metrics such as likes and followers. This creates shared standards for what is considered attractive, popular, ot "normal," while also fueling comparison and self-objectification (Chokes-Bradley et al., 2022)

For young adults, Instagram is a space to participate in cultural trends and present lifestyle choices. It reinforces social ideas of success-such as fitness, relationships, and travel-that shape cultural expectations of adulthood. While this creates opportunities for creativity and connection, it also contributes to a cycle of comparison where young adults measure themselves against curated ideals (O'Reilly et al., 2022).

Adults also engage with Instagram as a cultural tool, often using it to share family milestones or professional achievements. It reflects collective cultural values around parenting, relationships, and work-life balance. At the same time, Instagram creates new cultural practices such as digital parenting communities and influencer-driven traditions that spread widely online (NumberAnalytics, 2023)

According to NumberAnalytics (2023), Instagram accelerates cross-cultural exchange by spreading fashion, music, activism, and lifestyle trends across borders. This promotes diversity and global awareness, but it can also contribute to cultural homogenization as people adopt similar aesthetics and norms worldwide.

The research highlights how Instagram not only mirrors cultural norms but also actively creates them. From beauty ideals to entrepreneurship trends, Instagram helps establish collective values that influence how people behave offline. For example, appearance-focused posts encourage widespread adoption of body and lifestyle ideals, making them part of mainstream cultural expectations (Choukas-Bradley et al., 2022; O'Reilly et al., 2022)

Across all life stages, Instagram has become a powerful cultural force. It shapes shared values, spreads global trends, and fosters community, but also risks narrowing cultural diversity by promoting curated and idealized lifestyles.

Pros 

Community Motivation

Shared progress whether its workouts, weight loss, healthy eating can all help boost accountability, allowing an individual to want to continue being healthy. Sometimes when I go to the gym I catch myself posting a picture of myself during my workout onto my Instagram story. The amount of positive feedback and compliments shared makes me want to continue to pour into myself.

Health Awareness 

Fitness influences and wellness content can motivate healthier habits such as exercise or nutrition. The majority of the fitness knowledge that I have acquired during middle adulthood has come from Instagram. It is so easy and convenient to save a video and refer back to it later when I need it. This has helped me stay active during middle adulthood, ensuring that I carry a healthy body into later stages of my life.

Cons

Unrealistic body standards

Exposure to filtered or altered images may negatively impact body image and self perception. For me personally instagram has lead me into an unhealthy comparison. The constant exposure to carefully edited photos and filters creates a sense that everyone online looks or lives perfectly. This has pressured me to want to change things about myself that I never thought about before. The more time I spend on the app, the stronger the desire becomes to live up to a polished, “Instagram-ready” version of myself which is unrealistic. 

In active lifestyle

Extended periods of screen time can reduce physical activity, contributing to high risks like obesity, hypertension, or poor posture. The more time I spend on my phone using apps like instagram the less tie I have available for others healthier activities like walking/ running.

Cognitive Development

Horn argued that crystallized intelligence, the accumulation of knowledge and verbal skills, continues to increase during middle adulthood (Santrock, 2022). Social media platforms such as Instagram may contribute to this growth by providing individuals with constant access to new information and opportunities to articulate their thoughts, share experiences, and engage in discussions. However, fluid intelligence, the ability to reason and process new information, tends to decline during this stage. This decline can be linked to a reduced attention span, often influenced by the rapid, fragmented nature of social media consumption, as well as increased exposure to misinformation, which may hinder critical reasoning (Santrock, 2022).

Pros 

Access to information

Exposure to new ideas, news, and educational content supports ongoing intellectual engagement. Instagram has also increasingly become a news outlet for me. I feel that there is less censorship compared to traditional media, and I’m able to see events unfold in real time, even those considered too “political” or “controversial” for television. The use of Instagram Live has played a big role in making this possible.

Creativity Stimulation 

Visual content can inspire creative projects, hobbies, or even professional opportunities. I also use Instagram as a form of self-expression. It gives me the freedom to post what I want, create my own aesthetic, and change it whenever I choose. I can share creative photos, videos, and even express myself through the captions I write.

Cons

Reduced attention span

Constant scrolling may impair focus and deep thinking (Luca, Neus). Since I started using Instagram, I’ve noticed a big increase in my screen time. I often feel pressured to keep up with the content my friends and family post, especially since stories disappear after 24 hours. On top of that, Instagram’s algorithm keeps feeding me personalized content even after I’ve seen everything from people I know, which encourages me to keep scrolling longer than I intended.

Misinformation 

Exposure to biased or false information can shape beliefs and decision making. I personally struggle with determining if information on instagram is valid or not. This has hindered my critical reasoning and caused me to now look further into things before believing them.

Pros

Social Connection 

 Instagram can help maintain ties with friends, families and peers, reducing the feelings of isolation. For me personally Instagram has allowed me to stay connected with family members who live out of town and friends from high school who I no longer see because life has taken us in different directions. It’s a great way to check in with loved ones for free and to show love and support from a distance.

Supports Networks/opportunities

With instagram you gain access to communities that share similar life experiences. Instagram has opened the door to amazing opportunities. For example, when I was searching for an ultrasound program that fit my needs, I posted a note on Instagram, and my inbox was flooded with helpful responses. It gives me the direction I need to take the next steps toward my career and ultimately helps me prepare for late adulthood. 

Cons 

Comparison & Self Esteem Issues

Constant exposure to curated content may lead to dissatisfaction with one's own achievement, appearance, or lifestyle. For me personally instagram has lead me into an unhealthy comparison. The constant exposure to carefully edited photos and filters creates a sense that everyone online looks or lives perfectly. This has pressured me to want to change things about myself that I never thought about changing before. The more time I spend on the app, the stronger the desire becomes to live up to a polished, “Instagram-ready” version of myself.

Relationship Strain

In a recent study involving individuals from 18-70 years of age, having a happy relationship or marriage were the life goals rated as most important across the entire adult life span (Santrock 2024). Misunderstandings or jealousy over interactions or attention can impact marriages, friendships, or family dynamics (Luca, Neus). If you allow social media platforms like instagram to ruin your relationship during middle adulthood it can affect the nature of the relationship moving in late adulthood and onward. I personally found myself getting upset over post that my partner would like and comment on, ultimately putting a strain on our relationship. 

On social media, we often watch influencers share their lives and their content that is interesting to watch. We will compare our lives to theirs because they show everything that is "perfect" to the public eye. Very often, influencers will get their body done, plastic surgery to be "picture perfect" and will attempt to tell others that they are natural, causing body dysmorphia and distracting from a normal body image. "From the research on social media and body image, it seems that appearance comparisons on social media are more damaging to body image than in-person comparisons" (Frisbie, 2025")

When it comes to peers as the comparison target, a different picture emerged: while upward social comparison with close and distant peers was significantly and positively related to lower levels of body appreciation, the comparison with these two targets was not related to any type of Instagram use investigated in the present study. This finding underlines that peers are indeed comparison targets, but more so in offline or other online contexts, and this stands in contrast to a prior study which found that exposure to idealized images of distant peers on Instagram is related to social comparison and worse mood and body image [10]. Thus, social media influencers, not peers, are an increasingly important socializing agent, which contribute to feelings of inadequacy as a result of upward social comparisons [26,27]. (Pedalino et al., 2022)

With regard to the covariates studied in our mediation model, it should be noted that younger females aged 15 to 17 reported significantly lower levels of body appreciation than young women. This echoes findings from past studies demonstrating that girls in late adolescence report higher levels of body dissatisfaction [48]. As females go through puberty, their body changes considerably. (Pedalino et al., 2022)