Abstract

Sophia Mie Iimura

Individuals who use Instagram have led to the association of various mental health disorders. Instagram was found to have the highest negative correlation associated with depression than when compared to other social media platforms. The purpose of this study is to gain insight into the relationship between Instagram and the display of depressive symptoms. Social media use will be defined as checking frequency and time spent. A mix method design consisting of questions gathering how much time participants generally use Instagram for and what purpose they use it for. This study includes the Beck Depression Inventory which measures the severity of depression which has been widely used in previous research. When adolescents use Instagram as a way to relieve stress or habituated of going onto the app, they have been found to feel more psychological distress the more time and frequency spent. Instagram is a platform that helps businesses flourish and help others connect however, without caution and care it could negatively affect an individual’s well-being. Instagram helps views set unrealistic expectations of a perfect life where adolescents should occasionally learn to take time off from social media and limit themselves to prevent adding more distress to their personal lives. Nowadays phone and social media settings allow individuals to set a daily time limit on the app. Further research should investigate minimizing the usage of time and frequency spent on Instagram.