Abstract

Instagram is a social networking site (SNS) that facilitate the social-comparison and feedback-seeking (SCFS) processes, which are particularly relevant during adolescence. Likes represent numeric evaluative feedback and seem to be considered as a form of social reward. In this research we examine some psychosocial factors that could influence the Instagram usage intensity (i.e. SCFS and motivations) and analyze the moderating role of SCFS in the relationship between the number of likes on posts and adolescents’ emotions. The sample consisted of 182 adolescent students aged between 13 and 18 years (M = 15.35 years, SD = 1.11). The results show that the social interaction, storage, and gossip motivations mediate the relationship between SCFS and Instagram usage intensity, and that the influence of the number of likes on emotions depended on the degree of SCFS. The discussion of the findings emphasizes that likes have a special social and affective relevance for adolescents with high SCFS, who might become more emotionally susceptible to the feedback they received from their audience on Instagram. This research could be a precedent to future research and the development of intervention programs based on the responsible use of SNSs in an educative context.

摘要

Instagram 是一个社交网站 (SNS)，可促进社交比较和反馈寻求 (SCFS) 过程，这在青春期尤为重要。喜欢代表数字评价反馈，似乎被视为一种社会奖励形式。在这项研究中，我们检查了一些可能影响 Instagram 使用强度的社会心理因素（即 SCFS 和动机），并分析了 SCFS 在帖子点赞数与青少年情绪之间的关系中的调节作用。样本包括 182 名 13 至 18 岁的青少年学生（M  = 15.35 岁，SD = 1.11)。结果表明，社交、存储和八卦动机在 SCFS 和 Instagram 使用强度之间起中介作用，并且喜欢的数量对情绪的影响取决于 SCFS 的程度。对研究结果的讨论强调，喜欢对于 SCFS 高的青少年具有特殊的社会和情感相关性，他们可能在情感上更容易受到他们在 Instagram 上从观众那里收到的反馈的影响。这项研究可能是未来研究和基于在教育环境中负责任地使用 SNS 的干预计划开发的先例。