TY - JOUR PY - 2021// TI - Self-compassion and Instagram use is explained by the relation to anxiety, depression, and stress JO - Journal of technology in behavioral science A1 - Keyte, Rebecca A1 - Mullis, Lauren A1 - Egan, Helen A1 - Hussain, Misba A1 - Cook, Amy A1 - Mantzios, Michail SP - 436 EP - 441 VL - 6 IS - 2 N2 - Previous research acknowledges that prolonged social media use is associated with several negative psychological consequences, including higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. In order to protect individuals from social stressors, research illustrates the role that self-compassion can play, with individuals high in self-compassion reporting greater emotional wellbeing; hence, proposing self-compassion could be a trait that is positively related to social media use. This research aimed to investigate the relationship between Instagram use and self-compassion, and whether this relationship can be explained through the relation to psychological wellbeing (depression, anxiety, and stress). A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate this relationship amongst young adults (n = 173), utilizing a revised version of The Multidimensional Facebook Intensity Scale to explore Instagram, The Self-Compassion Scale, and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale. Instagram intensity appeared to influence psychological wellbeing, with participants who spent more time on Instagram reporting poorer psychological wellbeing. Whilst higher levels of self-compassion were associated with lower levels of reported depression, anxiety, and stress, the relationship between Instagram intensity and self-compassion was not mediated to the extent as expected by wellbeing. Possible explanations and future directions are discussed as to what could explain the positive relationship between self-compassion and Instagram use.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 2366-5963 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s41347-020-00186-z ID - ref1 ER -