The Impact of Social Media on Personal and Professional Lives Annotated Bibliography

Fleck, J., & Johnson-Migalski, L. (2015). The impact of social media on personal and professional lives: An Adlerian perspective. 

The Journal of Individual Psychology

The instant article reports on a review of literature on the effects of social media on users, both positive and negative. However, in its discussion, this article gives more emphasis on the positive use of social media, such as mitigation of loneliness and isolation. The article also admits that social media usage also has negative implications for its users. The main limitation of the article is the lack of primary research, meaning that the researchers could have cherry-picked the articles that support their hypothesis. The main thrust of my argument is that looking at pictures on Instagram negatively affects the mood of social media users and this article will serve as a basis for a contrary argument.

Frison, E., & Eggermont, S. (2017). Browsing, posting, and liking on Instagram: The reciprocal relationships between different types of Instagram use and adolescents' depressed mood.  Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking ,  20 (10), 603-609.

The instant article specifically focuses on the psychological impact of Instagram usage among adolescents. The results of the self-reporting primary study revealed that viewing pictures in Instagram has a negative impact on the moods of adolescents. The negative mood inspires the posting of more content on Instagram which then leads to more negative moods. A specific limitation of the primary study is that it focused on Flemish adolescents from Northern Europe. Hence it may not be representative of a homogenous community. However, just as with my hypothesis, it does show that viewing pictures in Instagram adversely affects moods, and I will use it to foment that argument in my paper.

Lee, E., Lee, J. A., Moon, J. H., & Sung, Y. (2015). Pictures speak louder than words: Motivations for using Instagram.  Cyberpsychology, behavior, and social networking ,  18 (9), 552-556.

This article reports on the findings of a survey-based study that investigated the reasons behind the use of Instagram. The researchers established that most Instagram users have one or more of the five main aims that include interaction, archiving, self-expression, distraction, and peering at others. The main limitation of this study is the exponentially small sample group of 212 Instagram users. In my paper, this article will provide vital background information on why people use Instagram and its propensity addiction.

Lup, K., Trub, L., & Rosenthal, L. (2015). Instagram# instasad?: exploring associations among Instagram use, depressive symptoms, negative social comparison, and strangers followed.  Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking ,  18 (5), 247-252.

This article reports on a primary study that used questionnaires to investigate the relationship between Instagram usage and depression. The results of the research established that elongated durations of Instagram usage and the following of strangers on Instagram had a direct correlation with depression. Most Instagram users compare themselves and their lives with the pictures they see online. The main limitation of the study is the vagueness of some of its concepts, such as the meaning of the term “stranger” from the perspective of social media. Nevertheless, the article will play a critical role in supporting my argument that viewing photos on Instagram affect the mood of users.

Oeldorf-Hirsch, A., & Sundar, S. S. (2016). Social and technological motivations for online photo sharing.  Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media ,  60 (4), 624-642.

The instant article reports on a primary survey-based research process that sought to investigate the bearing factors for photo sharing on social media. According to its findings, the sharing of pictures combines a psychological component and a technological one. The availability of technology facilitates the desire to share pictures online. The article also includes data on the volume of pictures available online from different social media platforms. The main limitation of the article is that it is not representative of the general population as it focuses primarily on college students. I will use the data provided in the article regarding the number of pictures available on Instagram for the cause part of my paper.

Ricard, B. J., Marsch, L. A., Crosier, B., & Hassanpour, S. (2018). Exploring the utility of community-generated social media content for detecting depression: an analytical study on Instagram. 

Journal of medical Internet research

This article reports on the findings of a complex online ethnographic research that sought to investigate if Instagram use can be a tool for detecting depression. The researchers operated under the hypothesis that the comments made by friends about pictorial Instagram posts can give indications on whether an Instagram user is suffering from depression. The main limitation of the study was the complex nature of its undertaking, which limited its level of accuracy. However, the findings of the research will be useful in my paper as it will provide support for my hypothesis that looking at pictures on social media affects the mood of the viewer. Responses to pictures can reflect the effect of the pictures.

Sheldon, P., & Newman, M. (2019). Instagram and American Teens: Understanding Motives for Its Use and Relationship to Excessive Reassurance-Seeking and Interpersonal Rejection. 

The Journal of Social Media in Society

The instant article reports on primary research seeking to investigate Excessive Reassurance-Seeking as a motivation for using Instagram. According to the article, younger Instagram users who need constant reassurances are more likely to spend longer durations of social media. The research is limited, as it focused primarily on white Instagram users. Thus, its results may not be representative of a homogenous population. However, its results reveal a close emotional connection between Instagram usage and the emotions of a user as issues such as rejection and the need for reassurance are bearing factors on emotions. I will use this article to support my argument that using Instagram affects the emotions of users positively and negatively.

Sherlock, M., & Wagstaff, D. L. (2018). Exploring the relationship between frequency of Instagram use, exposure to idealized images, and psychological well-being in women. 

Psychology of Popular Media Culture

This article reports on primary research that used a randomized control trial process to determine the impact of watching pictures on women. In the trial, one group of young women were exposed to a variety of beauty-related Instagram pictures while the other group was not. The group exposed to the pictures showed more negative psychological outcomes, including negative mood and depression, mainly due to a poor appearance-related self-perception. The main limitation of the research was the small sample of 129 women. However, the findings collate with my hypothesis that looking at online pictures affects the mood of Instagram users. Further, I will use the article to provide a basis of the hypothesis by arguing that Instagram users compare themselves with the pictures they see, hence the effect on their mood.

Wang, F., Yu, C., Zuo, S., Huang, N., Cai, P., & Cheng, L. (2018). “Distant” Pictures Benefit Emotion Regulation in Emotion Disclosure on WeChat Moments.  Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking ,  21 (8), 498-503.

This article reports on a primary study that investigates the concept of emotional regulation through the posting of pictures on social media platforms. The study hypothesized that social media users carefully select the kind of pictures to post on social media, based on the level of emotions they want to express. For example, psychologically distant pictures reflect a lack of desire for emotional expression. The main limitation of this research was its data interrater reliability due to the limited ability to connect pictures to the user’s emotions accurately. Despite the limitation, the study confirms my hypothesis by showing that there is an emotional connection between pictures on social media and social media users. I will use the article to show that Instagram pictures can be a form of emotional interaction between users.

Zeeni, N., Doumit, R., Abi Kharma, J., & Sanchez‐Ruiz, M. J. (2018). Media, Technology Use, and Attitudes: Associations With Physical and Mental Well‐Being in Youth With Implications for Evidence‐Based Practice.  Worldviews on Evidence‐Based Nursing ,  15 (4), 304-312.

This article reports on a primary study designed to investigate the coloration between the consumption of multimedia content on mobile phones and negative psychological outcomes. The researchers sought to confirm the hypothesis that using multimedia content on mobile phones leads to negative behavioral outcomes such as eating disorder, stress and depression. The results of the study showed a clear correlation between the regular use of multimedia content on a mobile phone and negative psychological outcomes. The study is slightly limited as it focuses on Lebanese students and used multimedia content as opposed to only social media pictures. I will use this study in my review of the literature to support the argument that the use of mobile phones can contribute to negative psychological attributes.

Zolkepli, I. A., Hasno, H., Mukhiar, S., & Nadiah, S. (2015). Online Social Network Citizen Engagement on Instagram Crowdsourcing: A Conceptual Framework. 

Electronic Journal of Knowledge Management

This article investigates the effectiveness of the use of pictures Instagram for crowdsourcing purposes. The researchers established that the use of pictures, without the addition of too much text content, has a strong effect on the targets of crowdsourcing campaigns. The main limitation of the article is that it does not factor in secondary factors, such as the popularity of a crowdsourcing venture outside Instagram. However, its findings reveal that pictures on Instagram make enough impact on users to inspire investment decisions. I will use this argument to support my hypothesis about the monumental impact of Instagram pictures on users.