Chapter 25 Exercises: Instagram and the Comparison Trap

Comprehension and Recall

Exercise 1 [Short Answer] In what year was Instagram founded, and who were its founders? Describe the initial concept that preceded Instagram and explain how analysis of user behavior led to the platform's simplified design.

Exercise 2 [Short Answer] Explain the significance of Instagram's acquisition by Facebook in 2012. What was the acquisition price, and why was this figure considered surprising at the time? What did the acquisition accomplish for Facebook competitively?

Exercise 3 [Multiple Choice / Short Answer] What does the research finding that "the brain processes visual information significantly faster than text" imply for Instagram's psychological impact? Explain using the concept of automatic versus deliberate processing.

Exercise 4 [Short Answer] Define "upward social comparison" and "downward social comparison" as described in Festinger's (1954) social comparison theory. Which type of comparison does Instagram's content ecosystem predominantly trigger, and why?

Exercise 5 [Short Answer] Summarize the key finding from the Fardouly et al. (2015) experimental study. What was the independent variable, what were the outcome measures, and what did the results show about the mechanism of harm?

Application Exercises

Exercise 6 [Applied Analysis] Scroll through Instagram's Explore page for ten minutes (or recall a recent session if you use the platform). List five categories of content you encountered. For each, identify whether it is likely to trigger upward comparison, downward comparison, or neither, and explain your reasoning.

Exercise 7 [Design Analysis] Instagram displays the following information on each post: the poster's username and profile photo, the image, a like count (optionally), a caption, selected comments, and a timestamp. Analyze each of these design elements. Which elements facilitate social comparison? Which are neutral? Which, if any, might reduce comparison?

Exercise 8 [Case Application] Maya checks Instagram for eight to twenty minutes every morning before getting out of bed. Using the concepts of variable reinforcement schedules, FOMO, and social comparison, explain why this behavior is difficult to stop even when Maya reports that it produces negative emotions.

Exercise 9 [Research Application] Mills et al. (2018) found that fitspiration content produced greater body dissatisfaction than travel images. Design a follow-up experiment that would test whether labeling fitspiration images as "digitally altered" reduces their body image effects. Specify your hypothesis, design, measures, and expected results.

Exercise 10 [Comparative Analysis] Compare Instagram's visual feed to a text-based social media platform (such as Twitter/X or Reddit). Using evidence from the chapter, argue which produces greater body image effects and why. What is the key mechanism that accounts for the difference?

Critical Thinking

Exercise 11 [Argument Evaluation] Marcus Webb (Velocity Media's head of product) argues that "people were comparing themselves to Vogue before Instagram existed" and questions whether Instagram is significantly worse than prior media environments. Evaluate this argument. What is its strongest point? What does it fail to account for?

Exercise 12 [Ethical Analysis] The Frances Haugen documents revealed that Facebook's internal research found Instagram makes body image issues worse for one in three teen girls. Assume this finding was accurate and that company leadership was aware of it. Identify all the parties who bear ethical responsibility for the resulting harm and rank them by degree of responsibility, explaining your ranking.

Exercise 13 [Policy Analysis] Instagram's like count experiment resulted in a user-choice compromise: individuals could opt to hide or show like counts on their own posts and on others' posts. Using behavioral economics concepts (defaults, choice architecture), evaluate this outcome. Is it an adequate solution to the problem of quantified social approval?

Exercise 14 [Power Analysis] The chapter describes an "asymmetry of power" between Instagram as a corporation and individual users. In what specific ways does Instagram exercise power over users' psychological environments? What countervailing powers do users possess, and how effective are they?

Exercise 15 [Structural Analysis] Explain how Instagram's creator incentive structure (more engagement = more reach = more monetization) shapes the content ecosystem that ordinary users consume. Trace the causal chain from platform algorithm design through creator behavior to user psychological outcomes.

Research and Investigation

Exercise 16 [Research Design] Design a longitudinal study to test whether daily Instagram use during adolescence is causally related to body image dissatisfaction in early adulthood. Specify your sample, measures, timeline, control variables, and how you would address selection bias (the possibility that people already dissatisfied with their bodies use Instagram more).

Exercise 17 [Literature Review] The chapter discusses research by Fardouly et al. and Mills et al. Identify two additional peer-reviewed studies on social media and body image published after 2018. For each, describe the study design, key findings, and what they add to the chapter's argument.

Exercise 18 [Policy Review] Research the regulatory responses to Instagram's effects on teen mental health in at least two countries or jurisdictions (for example, Australia's Social Media Minimum Age law, the UK's Online Safety Act, or US state-level legislation). Compare the approaches and assess their likely effectiveness.

Exercise 19 [Platform Audit] Using Instagram's publicly available information about its algorithm (found in the company's "How Instagram Works" documentation), identify what signals the platform says it uses to rank content. Compare this to what the chapter says about algorithmic optimization. Where are the gaps or inconsistencies?

Exercise 20 [Historical Comparison] The chapter argues that Instagram's effects on body image are qualitatively different from prior media environments like fashion magazines. Research the history of body image concerns related to fashion magazine culture in the 1980s and 1990s. In what ways were the mechanisms similar to Instagram? In what ways were they different? Conclude with a judgment about whether Instagram represents a continuation or a genuine escalation.

Synthesis and Writing

Exercise 21 [Essay: Short] In 500 words, explain why the finding that "awareness of image manipulation does not reduce body image effects" is significant for platform design policy. What does this finding imply about the limits of user education as a harm-reduction strategy?

Exercise 22 [Essay: Extended] In 1,000 words, analyze Instagram as a system. Identify at least five design elements (algorithmic, interface, economic, social) and explain how each contributes to social comparison dynamics. Conclude with a set of three specific design interventions and an assessment of their likely costs and benefits.

Exercise 23 [Perspective-Taking] Write a 600-word memo from the perspective of Instagram's head of product in 2019, the year the Frances Haugen documents were produced. You have just received the internal research showing that Instagram makes body image issues worse for one in three teen girls. What do you do? What factors pull you in different directions? What do you ultimately recommend?

Exercise 24 [Counter-Argument] The chapter presents a broadly critical view of Instagram's effects on body image and mental health. Write a 500-word counter-argument defending Instagram. What benefits does the platform provide? What methodological limitations affect the research cited? What would a more balanced assessment conclude?

Exercise 25 [Op-Ed] Write a 700-word op-ed for a mainstream newspaper arguing for a specific regulatory or legislative intervention to address Instagram's effects on adolescent mental health. Your argument should be evidence-based, acknowledge likely objections, and be persuasive to a general audience.

Data and Quantitative Exercises

Exercise 26 [Data Interpretation] The chapter states that thirty-two percent of teenage girls said Instagram made them feel worse about their bodies when they already felt bad. Interpret this statistic. What population does it describe? What are its limitations as evidence? How would you need to qualify this finding in an academic paper?

Exercise 27 [Simulation Analysis] Run the engagement_metrics.py code file associated with this chapter. Examine the output showing the distribution of upward versus downward comparison in a simulated Instagram-like feed. Modify the parameter controlling the proportion of aspirational content and observe how the comparison distribution changes. Write a 300-word interpretation of the results.

Exercise 28 [Statistical Thinking] The chapter describes Facebook's acquisition of Instagram for approximately one billion dollars in 2012 as a bet on monetization potential. Instagram's advertising revenue was estimated at approximately twenty billion dollars annually by the early 2020s. Using these figures, assess the return on investment. What does this analysis reveal about the economics of attention monetization?

Debate and Discussion

Exercise 29 [Structured Debate] Debate the following proposition in class: "Instagram's harm to teenage girls is primarily a product design problem, not a parenting or individual choice problem." One team argues for the proposition; one argues against. Each team should prepare evidence-based arguments and anticipate counterarguments.

Exercise 30 [Socratic Seminar] Discuss the following question as a class: "Given that Maya knows Instagram is artificial and still feels its effects, what is the appropriate unit of intervention — individual users, platform companies, regulators, or educators?" Each participant should take a position and respond to others.

Exercise 31 [Role-Play] In small groups, role-play the Velocity Media internal debate between Dr. Aisha Johnson (ethics), Marcus Webb (product), and Sarah Chen (CEO). Each character should argue their position on whether to implement a cap on aspirational content in the feed. After the role-play, debrief: what compromises were possible? What remained irreconcilable?

Reflection and Personal Application

Exercise 32 [Personal Audit] Conduct a one-week Instagram audit. Each time you use Instagram, note: the time, duration, what type of content you consumed, and how you felt afterward. At the end of the week, analyze your data. What patterns do you observe? What does your data suggest about the chapter's claims?

Exercise 33 [Experimental Self-Study] For one week, use Instagram only for posting and Direct messaging — no feed scrolling, no Explore. Record any changes in your emotional state, body image thoughts, or habitual checking impulses. Write a 400-word reflection on what you noticed and what it implies about the role of passive consumption versus active engagement.

Exercise 34 [Values Clarification] The chapter discusses Instagram's role in creating aspiration for experiences and lifestyles. Reflect on your own consumption of aspirational content. What do you aspire to? How much of that aspiration is genuinely your own, and how much has been shaped by what Instagram has shown you? Write a 300-word personal reflection.

Exercise 35 [Design Alternative] Imagine you are a product designer tasked with creating a photo-sharing social media application that minimizes social comparison harms while preserving the genuine social utility of visual sharing. Describe your design. What features would you include? What features would you exclude? How would your monetization model differ from Instagram's?