Relationship between Instagram and depression in young adult
Methods
The population that is key in this research are the youths. Over time Instagram has led to lots of youth being in depression. In the research, we try to assess the difference between Instagram and depression among the youth. The depression is caused by the need of individuals to match their peers in social platforms. The need to have life and followers compared to their peers increases the pressure among youths leading to the numerous cases that are exhibited of individuals being in depression to extents of them committing suicide (Reece & Danforth, 2017). The youths that will be vital in this research are the youths that are social media users. The number of participants that would most likely ensure that the research is a success will be forty individuals.
The type of sample that will be more appropriate for the research will include individuals from various ethnicities, races, gender, and the various socio-economic groups. It is ideal to ensure that the research covers numerous youths from different backgrounds to ensure that the research is not biased at all.
The proposed participants will be from different areas providing in the long run that various demographic regions have been covered. In covering the different regions, the research will be more centered on different youths. Assessing information from multiple areas will be ideal in ensuring that the results generated will not be biased and will at least cover the different areas efficiently and thus have a true reflection on how Instagram has led to depression among the youths.
Data will be generated from the health ministry recordings on the number of deaths that have been associated with depression. Data will also be produced from schools and correctional institutions that have handled different depression cases among the youths. The type of review that will be expected in the research will be the exempt review. Reasons for expecting the exempt review is mainly due to the reasons of it having minimal risk to participants and thus ensuring that it is in accordance with the rules that will make it an exempt review.
To answer the question on Instagram and depression among the youths, various methods will be used to ensure in the long run that data that is generated in the discussion will have clear results. Some of the methods that would be more preferable will include surveys, experiments, and observational studies. The existing data that has also been laid regarding Instagram and its relation to depression will play a significant role in ensuring that the right report is generated. Quantitative data will be the method of collecting data that will be used for the experiment.
The expected findings will be the increase in the number of depression cases that are associated with Instagram. Based on the findings, the higher number of cases that are related to depression are mainly associated with teenagers from well off societies. The high number of depression cases are associated with high-end teenagers. However, depression is also found among the struggling communities. The kind of friendship that teenagers associate themselves with plays a significant role in whether they get into depression or not. Based on previous research and surveys, young people will tend most times to feel anxious and worried about their image. Teenagers will, at most times, tend to perfection and thus ensuring that they put pressure unto themselves, leading to high depression cases.
Discussion
Individuals who perceived and acknowledged their shortcomings in spending a lot of time on Instagram record deeper depression rates compared to those who fail to come to terms with their conditions. Self-esteem issues have been associated with Instagram addicts due to the large number of images that tend to pressure young people to adopt a lifestyle that involves faking social life. The incidences between active and passive users having depression are found to have no effects. People who seek content often give a thought before commenting or engaging in discussion. The level of thinking leads to a significant rise in the probability of overthinking and depression.
Young people spend a large portion of their time on Instagram to keep up to date. Besides, through direct messages, communication between the family and friends is maintained. Here, the respondents are passive, viewing the profiles, and having an indirect conversation with the family. The interest in friends and acquaintances with whom large distances separate them to urge them to maintain a close form of contact. The young people indicated that they perform these activities when they are bored and have cultured to the unconscious effort of communication.
The young people have admitted to using Instagram as a source of motivation by following specific individuals or groups conforming to this need. The students aim to utilize this knowledge to map out a business idea. The individuals follow and model the Instagram updates making them active at specific hours. The implementation of ideas learned through Instagram often requires a lot of commitment and initial capital. The students lose touch with the modern world while busy trying to replicate the personalities to fit the guidelines stipulated by those channels.
Young people tend to over-use Instagram as a mechanism to combat loneliness. Research indicates that trim in the daily Instagram timespan leads to better quality utilization of time. The over-use of social media is associated with late-night sleep. The weird sleeping patterns lead to a lack of productivity during the day (Andalibi, Ozturk & Forte, 2015). Such individuals are found to be victims of cyberbullying. However, some of them become aggressive and lash out on Instagram. The individuals are characterized by abusive comments and a negative attitude to the general population. A decrease in Instagram time leads to better social interactivity skills.
Cyberbullying is an aspect that has led to an increase in depression. In cyberbullying, individuals end up spreading information that may be harmful to an individual. Victims of cyberbullying end up getting depressed .people with low self-esteem may end up committing suicide or getting lonely due to self-esteem.
Based on the research, it is clear that depression, in most cases, is caused by external factors. The research has vividly shown the case scenarios through its discussion on how various aspects of life have caused a significant rise in the number of depression cases that are being experienced among the youth. Counseling and rehabilitation services should be on the rise to ensure that the number of depression cases is monitored (Jacobs & Lacock, 2012). Cyberbullying anti measures by the government should also be on the rise, ensuring that the cases are mitigated and the number of depression cases that would be mainly attributed to Instagram cyberbullying significantly reduced. Social media has a lot of positive influences but should be mitigated to ensure in time that it does not end up in depression.
In conclusion, social media Instagram included paying a vital role in what society is today. Teenagers have thus used Instagram to change their lives and experiences. The pressure to match their peers has been on the rise leading to the discussion. The paper analyzes the role that Instagram plays in depression among teenagers. Based on the discussion, it is clear that Instagram has a role to play in the increased numbers in both depression cases and the number of suicides that are being recorded in the society. Instagram has played a significant role in society, and measures have thus to be found to ensure in the long run that Instagram aids individuals in gaining happiness and prosperity rather than experiencing the high level of depression cases that are being recorded.
References
Andalibi, N., Ozturk, P., & Forte, A. (2015, February). Depression-related imagery on instagram. In Proceedings of the 18th ACM Conference Companion on Computer Supported Cooperative work & social computing (pp. 231-234).
Jacobs, K., & Lacock, V. (2012). DR-TB medication and the effects on hearing.
Reece, A. G., & Danforth, C. M. (2017). Instagram photos reveal predictive markers of depression. EPJ Data Science, 6(1), 1-12.