JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Instagram is a fundamentally visual social media where users post photos that they can edit, which encourages comparisons between one another, and highlight the importance of physical attractiveness.

Objective:

We aimed to analyze the relationship between the use of Instagram, both the hours of daily use and the content viewed, and self-esteem, tendency to physical comparison and satisfaction with body image.

Methods:

In this cross-sectional study we recruited 585 participants aged between 18 and 40. The assessment tools consisted in: 1) A questionnaire of sociodemographic data and Instagram use variables elaborated by the research team specifically for this study; 2) Rosenberg´s self-esteem scale; 3) Physical Appearance Comparison Scale-Revised; and 4) Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ). The recruitment and evaluation process were carried out in January 2021.

Results:

234 (40.0%) of the participants used Instagram less than 1 hour a day, 303 (51.8%) used Instagram between 1 and 3 hours a day, and 48 participants (8.2%) used it more than 3 hours per day. We found statistically significant differences (p<0.05) between the three groups in the scores obtained on the Rosenberg´s self-esteem test, the Physical Appearance Comparison Scale and in the Body Shape Questionnaire. We found that the 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 type of contents viewed, without finding any differences between those who basically viewed professional contents and those who primarily consumed fashion & beauty and sport & nutrition contents.

Conclusions:

The results of this study indicate that the use of Instagram is associated with poorer satisfaction with body image and self-esteem, mediated by the tendency to compare physical appearance in relation to the time of use.