Abstract

Social media has impacted the lives of many young adults within today’s society. While social media has connected individuals from around the world, it has also blurred the truth from reality. Quite often, social media users will give a glimpse into their life where judgements are free to be made by their audience. Instagram is a noteworthy platform that is highly utilized, but also highly critical to one’s mental health. Previous research has explored the significance between mental health and social media; however, the aim of this current study is to carefully examine the connection between depression and Instagram usage amongst college-aged individuals. The present study used a mixed-methods research in which data was collected from students attending Long Island University’s Post Campus. Participants were asked to complete an anonymous survey that was distributed via email link. Results indicated that Instagram usage does not influence depression amongst college-aged individuals.

Keywords

depression, Instagram, social media, young adults

Document Type

Thesis

Year of Completion

2022

Major

Master of Social Work

Advisor

Maria Taylor, Ph.D., MSSW

Academic Department

Social Work

Included in

Social Work Commons

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