Distorting Self-Image and Communication Among Teens

 Instagram, with its photo-centric design, profoundly affects youth by emphasizing visual perfection. Teens often curate feeds that showcase idealized lives, leading to behaviours rooted in comparison and validation-seeking. This can manifest in excessive editing or trend-following, altering how young people perceive their own worth.

Communication on Instagram shifts toward image-based interactions, where stories and DMs replace face-to-face talks. While this enables global connections, it often breeds 

superficiality, with likes serving as social currency that impacts self-esteem.Lifestyle changes include heightened consumerism, as influencers promote products that teens feel compelled to buy for status. Alarmingly, 32% of teen girls report worsened body image from the app, linking to anxiety and eating disorders. Recent 2025 data show correlations with depression spikes. To counter this, promoting unfiltered content could help youth build healthier self-perceptions.