Instagram could be hurting your body image, but should we stop scrolling?

We’ve all experienced that dreaded string of negative thoughts that cruise out brains after seeing other people’s photographs on social media. If you thought you were the only one effected by the images — you’re not. A study confirmed that social media and Instagram could be hurting your body image.

Obviously you shouldn’t just throw your phone on the ground after reading this. Keep looking at photos and taking part in social media. Just remember that your worth is not defined by your appearance, especially not in comparison to someone else. This is the only way to avoid the following results found by study:

“As a whole, these articles demonstrated that use of SNSs is associated with body image and disordered eating. Specific SNS activities, such as viewing and uploading photos and seeking negative feedback via status updates, were identified as particularly problematic.”

What I found most surprising is that the results effected both men and women similarly. It doesn’t matter what gender you are — we tend to compare ourselves to others. Seeing stylized, photoshopped and often not-candid pictures give us a false sense of perfection.

It’s easy to forget about photoshop and filters and assume that everyone in the world except you looks perfect. It can take a long time to retrain your brain to now understand that perfection is not only ever-changing but impossible to achieve. Better to focus of being a good person.

So don’t just chuck your phone away in order to keep yourself from seeing images of other people — instead learn to understand that you are more than an Instagram picture.