Prevalence of social media networks for social interaction, especially Instagram, which has emerged as the most popular image-based platform in 2021 (Lu & Lin, 2022), has skyrocketed in recent decades. Instagram is committed to providing a social network platform as a medium for real-time communication, transcending geographical boundaries, for strengthening connectivity through photo-video sharing. Although studies have found that Instagram can offer emotional liberation in the short term (Kim & Kim, 2023), it is argued that social comparison promoted by Instagram, which denotes that people judge their self-worth by contrasting themselves with others, could be detrimental to the individual development of users. This study contends that Instagram harms users in terms of lowering self-esteem and self-satisfaction, creating the fear of missing out, and leading to physical health problems instead of being beneficial to them in the long term.
Instagram has encouraged upward social comparison that has arguably been destructive, as it diminishes users’ self-esteem and self-satisfaction. Tiggemann and Anderberg (2019) indicate that Instagram invariably presents an idealized version of reality that emphasizes flawless appearances and premium lifestyles. Indeed, this illusion distorts users’ perception, resulting in feelings of inadequacy with body image, and particularly has an immense impact on adolescents and young adults, the target users of Instagram. These users are still in the phase of developing their self-esteem. Their self-worth depends on others’ validation regardless of whether they are in the real or virtual world. Thus, users modify photos fitting unrealistic beauty standards to present an ideal image (Kim & Kim, 2023). However, there is a negative correlation between users’ self-esteem and self-satisfaction, and the level of social comparison. Addictive behavior is caused by this vicious cycle of comparison. Ultimately, users experience inferiority complex because they cannot meet the expectations of an ideal image. This in burn undermine their self-esteem.
The emphasis on social comparison baked into Instagram not only causes negative self-evaluation but also enhances the fear of missing out. Catching up to the trend is essential to maintain social interaction. Due to this invisible pressure, users invariably drill into tons of up-to-date and unaffordable information. The features of Instagram make this even worse. For example, the emerging function, namely Instagram stories, allows users to share context temporarily. Those contexts, which disappear after 24 hours, also can be available exclusively to selected followers chosen by users (Lu & Lin, 2022). Indeed, it can enhance the intimacy of friends due to the psychological needs of humans. However, users are afraid of missing out on that information, which causes them cannot join the further rewarding discussion that most others can participate in except them. Additionally, the behavior of highlighting popular post and trends conducted by the algorithm of Instagram give the users a sense of urgency that information must be kept attention.