How Does Instagram Affect Body Image

Research has found that Instagram use can cause body image issues and other mental health concerns. In one study, surveyed teens reported Instagram and Snapchat can negatively affect users by causing:

• Anxiety
• Body image issues and related eating disorders
• Depression
• FOMO (fear of missing out)
• Loneliness
• Loss of sleep 

Another study examined users aged 12 – 15 who spend three hours or more per day on Instagram. They found that these users were more likely to develop mental health problems, including anxiety and depression.

Instagram and many of its features can negatively affect a user’s body image by encouraging harmful comparisons. This can be especially true for teens who compare their appearance, body types and lives to others. Instagram’s filters, retouching features and time spent on the platform can cause harm. The combination can lead to body image issues, eating disorders, body dysmorphia, and related harms. 

Many of Instagram’s features and design could negatively impact body image, such as:

• Appearance-altering filters create idealized images
• Continuous scroll draws users deeper into the app
• Poor age verification features allow very young children to have accounts at very impressionable ages.
• Reward system harms adolescent body image

Appearance-altering filters create idealized images

Instagram builds into its app’s appearance-altering filters that emphasize traditional and unrealistic beauty standards. These filters enable users to remove blemishes, lighten skin tone and reduce their physical size so they appear thinner in photos. 

The app pushes these filtered and unnatural images to young users. The altered images encourage negative body image comparisons. After viewing these fake images, adolescents begin to view their appearance, bodies and lives as comparatively worse.  

A 2016 study on Instagram use found more than half of young girls surveyed used image filters every day. More than 75 percent of study participants tried to change or hide at least one body part before posting their own photo. About 50% believed they didn’t look good enough in photos without editing.

Reward system detrimental to adolescent body image 

Instagram generates harmful recommendations through hashtags and its Explore and Feed features. The platform frequently recommends keywords related to unhealthy weight loss, diet pills and appetite suppressants. Research has found that prioritizing the likes and comments regarding other users’ selfies was connected to a higher risk of eating disorders such as bulimia nervosa, binge-eating disorder and night eating syndrome.

Plaintiffs assert Meta knows Instagram is linked to body image issues in its users. In 2021, The Wall Street Journal published internal documents leaked by a former Facebook product manager. 

According to Meta’s own research, the documents found over 40% of teens felt “unattractive.” The document said this feeling began when individuals started using the app. The company’s research found that 13.5% of adolescent girls in the U.K. reported an increase in suicidal ideation. Another 17% reported aggravated eating disorders stemming from Instagram use. 

The documents publicized information that Meta already knew: the company’s platforms, including Instagram, are designed to exploit the developing brains of young people. This exploitation can lead to dangerous harms related to overuse. Internal Meta presentations reported that Instagram worsens body image issues for one in three teenagers and can lead to serious mental health consequences.

Research has shown that Instagram can have a significant impact on young girls, especially. Numerous studies have examined Instagram’s impact on the body image of teenage girls:

• UCLA researchers studied the brains of teenage girls who used Instagram. They found that the girls’ concept of a photo changed based on the number of likes it received. The girls automatically preferred images with numerous likes. This was true even though social media likes are frequently phony, bought or simply made up. 
• A 2019 study of 6,595 U.S. adolescents yielded more negative influence. Researchers showed young women (aged 15 – 17) images of influencers in suggestive poses while advertising swimwear and undergarments. They found the young women became unhappy with their own bodies after viewing the images. Researchers concluded that viewing sexualized images led to negative moods, self-objectification and appearance comparison. The findings emphasize the negative impact of idealized social media images on young women. They further stress the need for tighter restrictions regarding influencer advertising.
• A 2022 study involved Italian adolescent girls (aged 12 – 17) and young women (aged 18 – 28). Researchers investigated the connection between Instagram use and body dissatisfaction. They concluded that combining Instagram’s image editing and browsing features with influencer interactions promoted unrealistic body comparisons. 

These trends were more prevalent among adolescent girls. This is because teenage girls are typically more vulnerable to social pressures related to their bodies. They are also dealing with the physical changes that happen during puberty.

People are filing Instagram teen mental health lawsuits against Meta because of the platform’s alleged negative effect on teenage mental health. Evidence has linked high social media use to increased risk of anxiety, body image issues, depression, eating disorders and suicidal ideation.

Forty-two state attorneys general have sued Meta for what they allege is Meta’s role in a youth mental health crisis. Thirty-three of the states filed a federal suit against Meta in the Northern District of California. Nine additional attorneys general have filed in their own states. Motley Rice has filed multiple cases for individuals over social media harm. Motley Rice attorney Previn Warren serves as co-lead counsel of the federal multidistrict litigation against Meta and other social media defendants.

Motley Rice lawyers have decades of experience advocating for families and children. We bring cases against tech companies who employ predatory tactics to take advantage of children in mental health and social media cases.

Motley Rice has been leading litigation that strives to hold Instagram and other social media platforms accountable. If you are interested in exploring your or your child’s legal options surrounding social media harm, reach out to our team. 

Your mental health and well-being are paramount. We will listen to the circumstances of your case with compassion and help you decide whether pursuing a legal claim is in your or your child’s best interest.

Read more about Motley Rice’s litigation for affected families.