Instagram fuels both body-image issues and social connections, teen girls say

For 17-year-old Toronto student Scarlett Pourmatin, Instagram has been a bit of a mixed bag. It has provided the opportunity to be part of a larger social network, exchange information and share experiences with her peers.

But it's had some drawbacks, significantly when it comes to self image and comparing herself to others — models like Kylie Jenner, who post their glam shots to be seen by millions of followers.

"I feel unworthy. I just don't feel great. I don't feel pretty. I don't feel right. I don't feel like I'm up to the beauty standard that women kind of have to uphold," she said.

"Sometimes I feel depressed about it. I definitely went through a phase where I was unhappy with my body because I was on social media so much."

Facebook conducted studies

Pourmatin is among many teenagers who struggle with body image when comparing themselves to others on Instagram. Indeed, Facebook, which owns Instagram, has discovered this through its own research, according to the Wall Street Journal. Company documents, obtained by the Journal, reveal that for the past three years, Facebook conducted studies into how Instagram affects its millions of young users.

It found Instagram can be harmful for a significant number of users, in particular teenage girls. According to the research about one-third of teen girls said that, when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse. Research also showed that the peer pressure generated by the image-focused Instagram led in some cases to eating disorders and suicidal thoughts.

Pourmatin says it's not just comparing body images — pictures of others engaging in fun social activity can also affect her mood.

"It just makes me compare my life to others and just think that their life is way better than mine, or way more perfect," she said. "It definitely makes me not feel good, sometimes even depressed about it."

Even for someone like Hannah Alper, 18, a Canadian social activist with nearly 13,000 followers, Instagram can exacerbate her insecurities.

'Impossible to not compare yourself'

"I've had insecure body issues since I was really young. I'm really short. So that has kind of played into the mix of that and looking at other girls and it's kind of impossible to not compare yourself to other people," she said. 

"Then that translates into us not feeling good about our bodies, about how we look."

Alper acknowledges that pictures posted on Instagram are of people presenting themselves in their best light.

"A lot of people on Instagram, including myself, we only post the highlights that's going on in or lives. When people see all of these people's lives with the perfect body, the perfect life, the perfect everything — you can't almost not feel a sense of jealousy, sadness."

Still she says, for the most part, Instagram has been a big positive in her life; that she's been using it since the start of her activism to talk about issues she's passionate about, to connect with people across the world and learn from them. 

But she also believes it's important, once in a while, to step back from Instagram.

"Sometimes it's important to take a break, take a breather, come back to the real world, go for a walk, don't be on your phone for a little bit," she said.

A few weeks ago, 15-year-old Toronto student Megan Fedorchuk took a permanent breather and gave up her Instagram account.

"I just kind of realized I was talking about and communicating and obsessing and comparing over something that quite literally doesn't exist," she said.

"Even the people who seem to be demonstrating some form of authentic, realistic representation, who seem to have it all together, it's all a facade, like it's all a fine-tuned image."

She said she feels "markedly better" since quitting the app, that she's seen a "drastic difference" in her attention span and is being more mindful about the media she consumes.

Katherine Tucker, a 17-year-old student from Dundas, Ont., says she realizes she spends way too much time on Instagram.

"I'm on it at school, at class, at home, at night, in the morning. I'm on it all the time," she said. "It's totally an addiction."

She said her friends often talk about wishing they lived in a pre-Instagram era, yet still, none will give it up. 

"You don't want to be the first one to give it up. You want to be doing what everyone else is doing."

There are benefits of Instagram, she said. While it provides a social media circle, it also plays an important role in information consumption, learning about different events and social movements around the world, she said.

'Body image is a huge thing'

"But then, on the flip side, I would definitely say it does have a negative impact on not just me, but my friends. Body image is a huge thing already with teens," she said.

Tucker says even though she's aware that some images may be manipulated, it still can impact her self-image.

"I know what's going on, I know, well, she's posing, it's the angle, she's sucking in, it's Photoshop. I know in my mind," she said.

"It still affects you. Next time you look in the mirror, you're thinking of that picture."