Use of Instagram and its effect on the mental well-being of university students: A perspective from Pakistan

The global use of social media, particularly Instagram, has considerably increased. At the start of 2024, according to social media platforms, Pakistan recorded 54.38 million social media users aged 18 and older, accounting for 38.9% of the adult population. This rapid digital expansion compelled us to study how Instagram use contributes to social comparison, and its subsequent impact on mental wellbeing among university students. Adopting a quantitative approach, the study conducted online surveys to explore the relationship between Instagram use and mental well-being. A sample of 515 was selected from two well-known universities in Islamabad through convenience sampling. The sample includes 515 male and female students aged between 18 and 25, applying a conditional mediation model (CoMe Model) evaluated by SmartPLS. The findings indicate that increased Instagram use strongly predicts decreased self-esteem (β = -0.661, p < .001), which is linked to higher levels of depression (β = -0.439, p < .001). The indirect effect of Instagram use on depression via self-esteem was significant (β = 0.290, p < .001), while the direct effect became non-significant when self-esteem was included, suggesting full mediation. Importantly, the strength of the mediated pathway varied with levels of upward comparison. The indirect effect was lower among those with high levels of upward comparison (β = 0.116) and stronger among those with low levels (β = 0.201), with the moderated mediation index also reaching significance (β = -0.035, p = .016). These results show that the psychological impact of Instagram use on mental wellbeing is variable and depends on users’ tendency to compare themselves with others.