Time Spent on Instagram and Body Image, Self-esteem, and Physical Comparison Among Young Adults in Spain: Observational Study

Abstract

Background: Instagram is a social media platform based on photos and videos that encourages interaction and comparison between users. Its growing popularity, especially among young people, has generated interest in the impact its use can have on users´ mental health, specifically on their self-esteem and degree of satisfaction with their own body image. Objective: We aimed to analyze the relationships between the use of Instagram, both the hours of daily use and the type of content viewed, and self-esteem, tendency to make physical comparisons, and satisfaction with body image. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we recruited 585 participants aged between 18 years and 40 years. Individuals who were interested in participating but had a personal history of eating disorders or had previously been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder were excluded. The assessment tools consisted of (1) a questionnaire that collected sociodemographic data and Instagram use variables and was created by the research team specifically for this study; (2) the self-esteem scale by Rosenberg; (3) Physical Appearance Comparison Scale-Revised (PACS-R); and (4) Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ). The recruitment and evaluation processes were carried out in January 2021. Results: Of the participants, 234 (234/585, 40%) used Instagram less than 1 hour a day, 303 (303/585, 51.8%) used Instagram between 1 hour and 3 hours a day, and 48 participants (48/585, 8.2%) used it more than 3 hours per day. We found statistically significant differences (P