SOCIAL COMPARISON AS A MEDIATOR BETWEEN INSTAGRAM USE AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AMONG YOUTH

Abstract

Instagram has the largest number of users among the younger population in Pakistan; however, there are few studies examining its impact on their mental health. In this study, we attempted to identify if a single behavior, social comparisons to other individuals using social media platforms, could account for why heavy use of Instagram is related to depression in university students. We surveyed 309 students between the ages of 18 and 30. Approximately 60 percent of our participants were female. Two established instruments were used to measure our variables of interest. First, we measured how much each participant engaged in social comparisons using the Iowa-Netherlands Comparison Orientation Measure (INCOM). Second, we assessed the extent of depressive symptoms experienced by each participant using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Our findings indicated that nearly half (49.5%) of our sample (students) used Instagram for over four hours per day. Notably, 75.4% of the students reported experiencing clinical levels of depressive symptoms. Additionally, both heavier use of Instagram and greater amounts of social comparison predicted higher scores for depression. Using mediation analysis, we found that social comparison accounted for a substantial amount of how Instagram use predicts low mood (rather than being a mere by-product of heavy Instagram use). Overall, the combination of Instagram use and social comparison accounted for approximately 29% of the variation in depressive symptomatology. One finding diverged from our expectations. On average, men scored higher on depression than did women. Therefore, these finding challenges common assumptions regarding how social media impacts people within a collectivistic culture like Pakistan. Overall, these data provide additional evidence supporting Social Comparison Theory and further highlight an urgent need for universities to develop programs designed to promote mental health awareness and digital wellness among their student populations so they can better manage their usage of social media.