What are the positive and negative effects of Instagram?
The popular photo sharing app negatively impacts body image and sleep, increases bullying and “FOMO” (fear of missing out), and leads to greater feelings of anxiety, depression, and loneliness. The positive effects of Instagram include self-expression, self-identity, community building, and emotional support.
Body dissatisfaction, appearance anxiety, lower self-esteem and depression: A 2019 study showed that the frequency of Instagram use is linked to these mental health issues.
Specifically, our three studies show the average and heavy Instagram users express more gratitude, feel more altruistic, and end up donating more than light users. We discuss the results in light of the role of hedonism and escape from negative feelings as mechanism explaining the effect.
While it can provide a platform for your teenagers to express themselves, develop social skills, etc., it can also have some negative effects–instilling false messages, false beliefs, violent behavior, spending too much time in front of a screen may cause health and development issues.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Put yourself out there in a good way | Posting inappropriate statuses/pictures |
| Connect with students in other educational systems | Making people feel bad about themselves |
| Make new friends/communicate or connect with old friends/family | Cyberbullying |
However, social media has many positive effects on education including better communication, timely information, and socializing online, etc. But at the same time, it has some negative effects which include identity theft, cyberbullying, and social isolation.
- Building Relationships and Staying Connected. Social media can make it easy to find groups of like-minded people or make new friends. ...
- Finding Your Voice. ...
- Showing Empathy and Kindness. ...
- Offering Support. ...
- Better Communication. ...
- Spreading News. ...
- Building a Business. ...
- Establishing Authority.
Social media harms
However, social media use can also negatively affect teens, distracting them, disrupting their sleep, and exposing them to bullying, rumor spreading, unrealistic views of other people's lives and peer pressure. The risks might be related to how much social media teens use.
Social media may provide individuals with a platform that overcomes barriers of distance and time, allowing them to connect and reconnect with others and thereby expand and strengthen their in-person networks and interactions.
When you tap the Your Story or Camera button on the Instagram home screen, you'll see the effect tray at the bottom of the screen. The effect tray shows effects from Instagram, effects from creators you follow and effects that you recently used or saved.
References
- https://www.kubbco.com/13-positive-effects-of-social-media-on-our-society-today/
- https://sparkar.facebook.com/ar-studio/learn/publishing/where-ar-effects-appear-in-instagram/
- https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/social-media-positive-mental-health/
- https://sites.google.com/site/bhsdigicitizenship/social-media/pros-cons-of-technology
- https://www.momjunction.com/articles/positive-and-negative-influences-of-media-on-teenagers_00107975/
- https://www.vizag.vignanschools.org/positive-and-negative-effects-of-social-media-on-education/
- https://www.psychalive.org/worst-mental-health-instagram-facebook-youtube/
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/tween-and-teen-health/in-depth/teens-and-social-media-use/art-20474437
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296322000583
- https://www.weliahealth.org/2022/10/instagram-and-girls-the-negative-effects-and-ways-to-temper-them/