Heavy Instagram use may blur your sense of self, study suggests

Add as a preferred source Researchers at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan have found that prolonged Instagram use may affect more than body image; it could also influence how the brain recognises your own face and body.

Published in Computers in Human Behaviour , the research introduces the Digital Erosion of Bodily Identity Hypothesis, which proposes that years of exposure to selfies, filters, and idealised digital images may gradually weaken the perceptual boundaries that help us recognise ourselves as unique individuals.

The study comes as concerns grow over the mental health effects of social media. Previous research has linked image-focused platforms like Instagram to body dissatisfaction, anxiety, depression, and eating disorders.

This new research had explored a more profound question: can social media also shape the brain processes that underpin your sense of self?