It Looks Good so Let’s Show it off: A Psychoraphic Segmentation of Instagrammers: An Abstract

Abstract

Instagram is a primarily visual social media platform that allows for enhanced intimacy, self-promotion and egocasting images (Hum et al. 2011; Winston 2013; Zhao et al. 2008). Due to the strong control users have over their self-images, Instagram is an attractive platform for narcissistic individuals, who want to showcase themselves in manners that benefit their own psychological needs (Moon et al. 2016). Also, the interactivity, online social-connection and ubiquitous characteristics of Instagram could entice compulsive social media users, who present uncontrollable needs to engage with social media platforms (Andreassen 2015). Furthermore, the perceived speed (Bridges and Florsheim 2008), the ease of the purchasing process and one-click settings could create a greater appeal for compulsive buyers than any other platform. As a result, Instagram could be an alluring platform for individuals with a great variety of psychological traits. The present study aimed to classify British Instagram users through their psychological traits and characteristics. The data was collected through the use of an online survey of a general consumer sample in the UK. It included Instagram usage questions, and questionnaires on narcissism, technostress, compulsive use and compulsive buying behaviors. We conducted a k-means cluster analysis, which yielded five distinct clusters: influencers, narcissists, muted, casual and pragmatists. Influencers presented no narcissistic tendencies but higher levels of technostress and compulsive traits; they had highest follower numbers and account checking frequency. Narcissists revealed strong narcissistic traits, compulsive tendencies and moderate technostress; however, they did not present higher posting or account checking behaviors. Muted are the largest group, they had the lowest followership, posting and account checking frequency; also, they presented the lowest levels of compulsive and narcissistic tendencies. Casual presented compulsive tendencies, and moderate technostress levels; their Instagram use was lower than other clusters. Finally, pragmatists had a weekly account checking and a medium number of followers but showed narcissistic traits and medium compulsive tendencies.

This research is supported by King’s Business School’s Research Incubator Fund, 2018–2019.