Instagram the most Commonly Denied Addiction

The basic thought process of the teenage mind runs a common and frequent daily course. They attend school, sit with peers, and worry constantly about how they appear to others. Their stresses include worry about fitting-in, relationships, likes, followers, and who can give them a ride to lunch. Other students’ feelings or worries are not on their minds. They care only about themselves and how “hard” their lives are. When observing their profiles and posts on social networking sites (SNS) the posts usually contain images of themselves or surrounded by other people who are all trying their best to look good on camera.

In reality, a majority of these kids are constantly updating themselves on how many followers they’ve gained or lost, how many likes and comments there are, and the check to see if they missed any spots or acne while editing. This absorption is not healthy due to the fact that they will check their profiles up to 50 times a day.

However, when removed for extended periods of time from SNSs, teenagers’ moods, self-confidence, and stress levels have decreased to manageable amounts. Their feelings of missing out are only created from the observations of others’ lives on SNS. It is highly recommended that kids ages 12- 21 experience the freedom that comes along with the break from SNS. Time that was once lost in the depths of mindless browsing come back to you many-fold. Hours that may have been spent wishing and longing for a “better” life are lost in activities that one can now enjoy at any moment. If one finds themselves feeling depressed or envious of the lives that others are living, ask what one could possibly lose if they went just one week without SNS. Upon asking a group of 300 teenagers whether they have an active profile on Instagram, about 93% of them confirmed. Of those 93%, 78% were not content in life, saying they felt as if their goals in life were not attainable (Robbins). It was a polite way of saying that they tend to feel depressed and hopeless at times. These kids were aged from 14 to 20, so they are still in an important time in their lives where their minds are developing, and they are leaving adolescence. “During adolescence, teens are not only starting to use social media, they are also facing various developmental changes, such as the struggle for independence and autonomy.

As a result, adolescents’ mental health is particularly at risk during this stage of life.” (Hwang, pg. 13). To be developing depressive thoughts and behaviors at such an early time in life is quite disturbing and concerning. These kids have not yet begun life, have had to struggle in its entirety, and have no reason to be extremely concerned with the lives of other people, many of whom they do not personally know. The broad and common use of SNS was intended to create ease of communication and the ability to share with others your creations, pastimes, and activities. With that intent, SNSs seemed like a new and clever way for cultures and people alike to share with the world and learn to appreciate others endeavors and to discover what makes them alike. As time had progressed, SNSs had become what their creators had intended, but with consequences that were not. The correlation of time spent of social media, specifically Instagram, and the declining of self-esteem in young adults were walking hand-in-hand down a path of misery. Convenience was, and is, one of the biggest issues associated with the decline of mood and self-esteem. The miracle and genius of technology and its accessibility has affected the minds of generations that are meant to take our place as strong leaders and trailblazers. When young adults post on social media sites, it is not for fun or out of boredom. They are looking for attention, acceptance, and a place of belonging among their peers. The feedback that comes from a post on SNS is best compared to a hit from a cigarette. One can only go so long without, and it is relaxing when you do get one. “Studies have reported that SNSs have promoted an unhealthy dependence on approval from others to authenticate an individual’s identity claims and self-worth.” (Frison, Eggermont, pg. 3) The sites appear to be addicting, in the sense that one needs the confirmation of belonging from other users to feel positive, because they cannot judge their own worth. They need others acceptance to determine their worth for them. Having to live life in constant worry and concern is not an ideal way for anyone to live.

Although SNS are made for entertainment, it is found that young adults spend up to an average of 4 hours a day in total browsing Instagram. This browsing becomes monotonous and pointless due to it becoming just a way to waste time. The browsing also exposes the user to more profiles of people that seem to be living a “better” life than you are. “Passive use (e.g., browsing others’ profiles without posting one’s own new material) seems to be particularly detrimental. Passively looking at others’ profiles displaying photos of vacations or social events to which one was not invited often triggers resentment, envy, and loneliness” (Lup, pg. 24-25) Passive browsing is evidently the best way to waste time. In a study done by Apple, the amount spent each day looking at a phone was found to be almost 3 hours. That would equal 76 hours a month. That would be 3 days total spent looking at a phone, wasting time that could be put elsewhere. When browsing SNS, one becomes exposed to all sorts of profiles daily. They see more and more people living in a manner that one could easily become jealous of.

A common mistake does occur quite often when browsing. Users assume that these people are care-free and happy. Most often, their profiles are a cover-up to hide the problems that they encounter in life. The assumption is known as the attribution theory. Attribution theory, which highlights people’s tendency to attribute other people’s behavior to a dispositional rather than situational factors would suggest that browsing the enhanced photos of celebrities or other strangers on Instagram may inspire assumptions that these photos are direct reflections of how the people in them are living. Such conclusions make people more likely to judge themselves in comparison to the assumed lives of others, which can cause feelings of distress. Thus, the consistent nature of sharing enhanced photos on Instagram may represent a combination of features likely to cause negative feelings about the self, particularly for users that follow the activity of celebrities or strangers that they may admire.

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