The Goal of the Study and Research Question
The research was seeking to identify how Instagram affects the young women’s perception of self-image as has been found to be the case among young person’s using social sites like Facebook. The research gap that inspired this research is the fact that a research on how Instagram affects women’s perception of self-image and self-objectification has not been conducted prior to this research (Fardouly, Willburger, & Vartanian, 2018, p.1381).
Methodology
The research used a quantitative analysis approach in which data was collected and analyzed. The research involved women participants from the USA selected through Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) and undergraduate students from Australia University. The participants’ totaled 273 and their ages ranged from 18-25 years old (Fardouly et al, 2018, p.1383). The participants were sampled from various races: Caucasians, African American, Asians, Hispanic Americans, American Indian, Pacific Islanders, and others. All the participants were selected from those who had and Instagram accounts (Fardouly Willburger, & Vartanian, 2018, p.1383).
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Data was collected through questionnaires probing the participants’ use of Instagram, view of fitspirational images, comparison, and internalization of beauty, body image, and self-objectification (Fardouly Willburger, & Vartanian, 2018, p.1384-1835).
The research was conducted online after satisfaction of the participant threshold and signing of consent forms (Fardouly Willburger, & Vartanian, 2018, p.1835).
The results from the research were presented in table formats and the Data was analyzed through calculation of average, standard deviation, and range.
Results of the Study and Their Implications
The study found a significant difference in the use of Instagram between the MTurk participants and the student participants. The MTurk participants were found to be less concerned with the Instagram thereby it affected them to a lesser degree as opposed to the students who were more attached to Instagram affecting their life at a higher degree. However, both participants reported using Instagram and less fitspirational images (Fardouly Willburger, & Vartanian, 2018, p.1386-1387).
By comparing the MTurk participants from the USA and the students from Australia, an insight is obtained from the differences in their response. These results imply that undergraduate students are more affected by Instagram as compared to MTurk participants, which could be because of the difference in culture. It also shows the impact of Instagram as per the age of the user. The younger students from Australia are more influenced unlike older MTurk participants.
Limitations
The major limitation highlighted in the sample is on the sample type. The research was conducted among women of age 18 and 25. This sample did not cover male who are also Instagram users and people of the age below 18 who might also be using Instagram (Fardouly Willburger, & Vartanian, 2018, p.1391, 1383). Therefore, the research was limited in the sample covered.
Reference
Fardouly, J., Willburger, B. K., & Vartanian, L. R. (2018). Instagram use and young women’s body image concerns and self-objectification: Testing mediational pathways. New Media & Society, 20 (4) 1380–1395 1461444817694499.
