Instagram is Destroying Your Mental Health
Research shows it’s the most depressing of all social media apps
Ever since Instagram was launched in 2010, during the midst of my high school career, I’ve had a strong aversion to it. Immediately, most of my peers caught Instagram fever — and I couldn’t understand why.
Friends and acquaintances eagerly pressured me to make a profile. When I resisted, they said I should stop being so afraid to “be visible” or “put myself out there.”
But, I asked, if we were all already on Facebook, why complicate things by overwhelming ourselves with yet another social media site to keep up with? What was so special about Instagram that Facebook didn’t have to offer? When they responded by saying “it’s better for selfies,” that turned me off even more.
A social media site that’s centered around images and appearance? A never-ending stream of photos representing only the unrealistically perfect “Kodak” moments of people’s lives? Sounded like an insecurity-inducing recipe for disaster.
And now, when I look at the research about Instagram’s devastating impact on mental health, it turns out my first instincts about it were right. Not just for me, but for most people.
