Differences between Facebook and Instagram usage in regard to problematic use and well-being
Open accessAbstract
Although the association of well-being (e.g., self-esteem, depression symptoms, and loneliness) with Facebook usage (i.e., number of friends and frequency of use) has been investigated by many researchers, only a limited number of studies have scrutinised Facebook against Instagram use. The aim of this study is not only to address this literature gap but also to explore whether problematic use and well-being differ between Facebook and Instagram users in relation to the number of received "likes" and Facebook friends/Instagram followers, as well as the importance of these "likes" and friends/followers. Sixty-nine Facebook users and 66 Instagram users completed an online questionnaire, including self-esteem, loneliness, depression, and problematic Internet use items. Overall, Instagram users exhibited significantly higher problematic use behaviour compared to Facebook users. Age and importance of "followers" were negatively associated with problematic use of Instagram, whilst only the importance of "likes" was negatively associated with Facebook. The number of Facebook "friends" was positively associated with depressive symptoms, but this was not the case for the number of Instagram "followers". It is important to note that the number of "likes" was only negatively associated with self-esteem, but there was no association with loneliness. A potential explanation between the differences in the two platforms and well-being might be related to their different functionalities, for example, Instagram is an image-oriented platform that may boost users' self-esteem through post "likes" but only when the users are strongly connected.
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Our findings revealed that similar effects were present on both Facebook and Instagram, despite subtle differences in the nature of their content.
“Our findings revealed that similar effects were present on both Facebook and Instagram, despite subtle differences in the nature of their content (Limniou et al., 2022).”
From The associations between social comparison on social media and young adults’ mental health (2025) · cites this paper as Limniou et al., 2022
The Discussion says well-being may not dramatically differ between Facebook and Instagram users, despite differences in how the platforms are used. But it also reports a significant difference in problematic use, so the source supports similarity in well-being, not an unqualified claim of similar effects. (LLM, conf=0.84)
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References 49 · Cited by 37
Research works printed but not linked: 29
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- Authors
- Limniou, M., Ascroft, Y., & McLean, S.
- Affiliations
- University of Liverpool (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Limniou, Maria
- ORCID
- Limniou, Maria
- Venue
- Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science
- Published
- 2021-10-13
- Volume
- 7
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 141-150
- ISSN
- 2366-5963 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC8514204
- OpenAlex
- W3207742347
- Cited by
- 37
- References
- 49
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 1
- FWCI
- 7.97
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Networks and Communications › Media and Digital Communication
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Body Image and Dysmorphia Studies
- Keywords
- Facebook, Instagram, problematic internet use, social media use, well-being, self-esteem, loneliness, depressive symptoms, social validation, likes, followers, social network size, social media platforms comparison
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