Problematic Instagram Use: The Role of Perceived Feeling of Presence and Escapism

Instagram comprises widely used features such as video and photo sharing, and liking or commenting on others’ posts. More recently, Instagram provided its users with the capability to create live stories and to share them with followers. Although, to date, there is no study that has reported on how different Instagram features are related to problematic use, it has been shown that the frequent use of Likes and Wall updates on Facebook is related to bonding social capital (Lee et al. 2014), and that using different Facebook features (e.g., likes, shares, comments, and status updates) has different psychophysiological effects on individuals (Alhabash et al. 2018). Moreover, Chen (2011) found that tweeting, retweeting, and replying to others’ tweets more frequently were positively associated with the gratification of the need to connect to others on Twitter. These studies indicate that using different features of social media sites is associated with social gratifications and feelings of higher social connectedness (Chen 2011). Other studies have found that seeking friendship and relationship maintenance motives and gratifications are associated with more frequent social media use and social media addiction (Chen and Kim 2013; Huang 2011). Additionally, given that individuals’ fear of missing out recent posts and topics on social media have been found to be associated with social media addiction (Blackwell et al. 2017), watching live streams and following recent posts of others and the urge to give quick feedback (e.g., liking or commenting) on these posts may contribute to problematic use. Therefore, it was hypothesized in the present study that using different Instagram features would be associated with PIU.

Presence has been defined as a perceptual illusion of non-mediation in which medium appears to become either invisible, or transformed into a social entity (Lombard and Ditton 1997), and has been recognized and examined under via interrelated sub-types (i.e., social, spatial, and co-presence) by some researchers (e.g., Ijsselsteijn et al. 2000; Slater et al. 2000).

Social presence theory, which has been defined as “the degree of salience of the other person in the interaction and the consequent salience of the interpersonal relationships” (Short et al. 1976; p. 65), refers to the perceived feeling of existence in a specific medium as a result of an evaluation of social interactions with others in that particular platform (Heeter 1992). The more individuals feel others’ existence in a virtual environment the more they feel attached to it, and this can lead to higher sense of belonging in the environment by increasing human warmth and contact (Gao et al. 2017). As mentioned earlier, individuals use different features of social media sites with social motivations in order to bond with others. Consequently, using these features may lead to a higher feeling of social presence. Although, no previous study has ever examined the direct relationship between social presence and PIU, a few studies have demonstrated that social presence may be associated with social media site addiction via escapism (Gao et al. 2017).

Spatial presence is the sense of being located in a mediated space, feeling surrounded by the media environment, and losing the sense of awareness toward the technological source of the experience (Hartmann et al. 2015). Spatial presence theory has been widely used to understand technology-mediated communication such as virtual reality (Coxon et al. 2016; Westerman et al. 2015), video gaming (Murphy 2016; Williams 2014), and educational settings (Stavropoulos et al. 2017). Bracken (2005) showed that watching high-definition television was associated with higher sense of spatial presence, and that higher sense of spatial presence is positively affected by higher emotional involvement with the consumed media (Wirth et al. 2012). Contemporary smartphones have high-definition screens and this increased functionality benefits Instagram users who follow other users (e.g., friends and celebrities) that draw their interest (higher emotional involvement) because they can watch live streams and videos of the individuals they follow. Using different features of Instagram is likely to give its users a sense of spatial presence, and it is hypothesized that a higher sense of spatial presence should lead to higher involvement in Instagram use because increased sense of spatial presence in a specific medium leads to higher enjoyment obtained in that medium (Hartmann et al. 2010) and can lead to addictive use in a small minority of individuals (Gao et al. 2017).

Co-presence, which has been referred as “being there together with other geographically dispersed users” (Dalgarno and Lee 2010; p. 14), is considered as the intersection between social and spatial presence (Ling et al. 2014). In a more recent definition, Ling et al. (2014) referred to co-presence as “the feeling of being together with others in a computer-generated world at the same time even though people are in separate places” (p. 2). It has been found that co-presence in virtual worlds increases user satisfaction and immersive tendencies (Bulu 2012). Moreover, Greitemeyer et al. (2014) found that having responsive Facebook friends was associated with the satisfaction of psychological needs more than the number of Facebook friends. Being able to interact with others in the medium by mutually liking and commenting on each other’s posts increases the feeling of enjoyment and may lead to positive mood modification, which in a small minority of users may result in more problematic use of that particular medium (Gao et al. 2017). Consequently, based on the findings of the aforementioned studies, it was hypothesized that social, spatial, and co-presence would be directly associated with PIU and would mediate between use of Instagram features and PIU.

Escape theory—originally suggested as an explanation for suicidal behaviors (Baumeister 1990)—asserts that individuals who have higher standards and ideals than they can ever actually obtain are more likely to experience a need to escape from themselves or their reality (Lee 2017). Young et al. (2017) defined escapism as “a behavior employed to distract oneself from real life problems” (p. 25). These problems may be psychological ones such as depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem (Lee 2017). Several studies suggest that engaging in online activities such as playing online videogames and social media use to escape from reality, for distraction, or as a coping strategy is associated with problematic use (Gao et al. 2017; Masur et al. 2014; Yee 2006).

As well as real-life problems, individuals sometimes feel the need to escape from their reality because of a lack of things to do and this can act as either as an escape from real-life troubles or to avoid thinking about unpleasant thoughts (Hartmann et al. 2010). In order to successfully escape from reality, individuals need to have the feeling of involvement in the media, and therefore, they need to have the feeling of presence when using the media (Hartmann et al. 2010). In order to escape from themselves by feeling present in Instagram, individuals need to use different features of Instagram such as watching others’ videos and live streams, looking at their photos, interacting with other users by liking or commenting on others’ posts, and vice versa. As previously suggested (Gao et al. 2017), a small minority of individuals that successfully escape from reality by using Instagram may develop PIU because it helps modify their mood, one of one of the dimensions for problematic use if combined with other negative components such as conflict (Griffiths 2005). Based on the existing literature, it was hypothesized that escapism would be positively associated with PIU and would mediate between use of different Instagram features, feeling of presence, and PIU.

Mean scores, standard deviations, score ranges, and Pearson correlation coefficients are presented in Table 1. Path analysis with the hypothesized model (Fig. 1) suggested good fit to the data (χ²/df = 2.07, RMSEA = .06 (CI 90% [.01, .10]), SRMR = .01, CFI = .99, GFI = .99). In the model, all variables except problematic Instagram use (PIU) were observed variables and PIU was a latent variable. Watching live streams was indirectly associated with PIU via escapism, spatial presence, and co-presence (β = .12, p < 01; 95% CI [.04, .20]). Leaving likes and comments on others’ posts, on the other hand, was both directly (β = .16, p < 01; 95% CI [.04, .29]) and indirectly associated with PIU via co-presence and escapism (β = .14, p < 01; 95% CI [.06, .23]).

Spatial presence was weakly indirectly associated with PIU via escapism (β = .08, p < 001; 95% CI [.03, .15]), meanwhile co-presence was directly (β = .18, p < 05; 95% CI [.02, .33]) and indirectly related to PIU via escapism (β = .16, p < 001; 95% CI [.10, .23]). Direct and indirect effects of social presence on PIU were insignificant, but its total effect on PIU was significant (β = .15, p < 05; 95% CI [.02, .29]; Table 2), albeit weak. Total effect sizes of leaving likes and comments on others’ posts and co-presence were moderate, whereas watching live streams, social presence, and spatial presence were weak. The final model explained 49% of the variance in PIU (Fig. 2).

The present study used presence and escape theories to develop a complex model examining the relationships between use of different Instagram features, different types of presence (i.e., social, spatial, and co-presence), escapism, and problematic Instagram use (PIU). Consequently, results suggest that watching live streams (LS) and liking and commenting on others’ posts (LCO) in Instagram, higher feeling of presence, and escapism were associated with PIU.

Partially in line with the hypotheses, LS and LCO were associated with PIU. The relationship between LS and PIU was more complex. While higher LS was negatively indirectly associated with PIU via escapism, it was positively indirectly associated with PIU via spatial presence and co-presence, and the overall effect was positive. This may be explained if Instagram users were watching live streams for another reason than to escape from their reality (e.g., fear of missing out the recent updates of their followed ones). However, since watching live streams was giving individuals a higher feeling of spatial presence and co-presence, this led to a higher feeling of escape, and in turn, higher PIU scores. On the other hand, LCO was both directly and indirectly associated with PIU via co-presence and escapism. Similar to LS, the direct effect of LCO may be explained by social gratifications such as higher bonding social capital (Lee et al. 2014) and fear of missing out the recent updates (Blackwell et al. 2017). These users may have become problematic Instagram users with the urge to give instant and quick feedback on the posts of individuals they followed out of their need for more engaged social interactions. Moreover, those individuals who left more likes and comments on others’ posts experienced a higher feeling of co-presence, and this was another factor that led to higher feeling of escape from reality, thereby to higher PIU scores. This result supports the study of Young et al. (2017) who found that passive Facebook use was not associated with escapism. In order to obtain a sense of escape, users need to be interacting with other users actively. Consequently, using two of the five Instagram features was directly or indirectly associated with higher PIU scores.

With regard to feeling of presence, partially parallel to our hypotheses and previous studies (Gao et al. 2017), all three types of presence had significant total effects on PIU. However, direct and indirect effects of social presence were not significant. The relationship between spatial presence and PIU was fully explained by escapism. Instagram use was leading its users to feel higher spatial presence and this led to higher feeling of escapism. It seems that users feel higher emotional involvement toward videos they watch in Instagram that they feel higher spatial presence (Wirth et al. 2012). This may be because users follow other users that they feel emotionally attached to, such as close friends, family, or popular celebrities. Watching videos of others that they feel emotionally involved help them escape from their unpleasant reality and this positive mood modification leads them to higher PIU scores. Moreover, feeling of being together with others (i.e., co-presence) led to higher PIU scores via increased feeling of escape from themselves. Individuals that have a small number of real life friends may need to compensate their social needs in virtual platforms. Finding others via Instagram that can provide mutual interactions may fulfill individuals’ social needs and help them escape from their reality where they feel lonely. The urge to repeatedly experience such social gratifications may canalize individuals to develop a sense of belonging to the platform and this may lead to problematic use for a minority of individuals (Gao et al. 2017).

The present study is not without limitations. The sample was cross-sectional and non-representative; consequently, the results are unable to indicate any causal relationships between variables. Longitudinal studies are needed in order to demonstrate causal relationships between all the variables in the present study. Data concerning the feeling of presence, escapism, and PIU were collected using self-report questionnaires; therefore, several biases may be affecting the results such as social desirability and memory recall. Future studies could use qualitative or mixed methods in order to collect more triangulated data for more reliable in-depth results.

Despite its limitations, the present study has also has several strong aspects. This study is one of the first to examine problematic use of Instagram and the first to investigate how use of different Instagram features (i.e., watching live streams and videos, looking at photos, liking and commenting on others’ posts, receiving likes and comments from others) affect individuals’ sense of presence, escapism, and PIU scores. The findings of the present study appear to indicate that a minority of individuals use Instagram problematically and problematic Instagram use is associated with the frequency of watching live streams, liking and commenting on others’ posts on Instagram, being able to feel a higher sense of presence using Instagram, and using Instagram as an escape from reality.