Document Type : Research Paper
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Abstract
Instagram, with its focus on visual and video content, has become one of the most influential social media platforms. A significant portion of this content is produced by celebrities and influencers who, by showcasing their personal and professional lives, shape the attitudes and lifestyles of their audiences. This study aims to understand the experiences of female Instagram users. To achieve this goal, a qualitative research approach was employed, including semi-structured and in-depth interviews for data collection and thematic analysis for interpretation. The study was conducted with 20 women aged 18 to 45, selected through purposive, non-random sampling to ensure diversity in contextual characteristics such as education and marital status. The thematic analysis of the interviews identified one main theme: "Unstable and Reflective Mental Well-being," along with four subthemes: commodification of life, lifestyle changes, lack of perceived happiness, and re-evaluation of priorities, encompassing a total of 12 concepts. The findings indicate that female Instagram users are constantly exposed to comparison, judgment, and identity reconstruction. Their unstable mental well-being reflects a type of psychological and value-based disruption, in which the re-evaluation of identity and lifestyle occurs not out of conscious awareness, but under the hidden pressures of the culture of display on social media.
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