Chapter 25 Quiz: Instagram and the Comparison Trap

22 multiple-choice questions. Select the best answer for each.

Question 1 Instagram was founded in what year, and by whom?

A) 2008, by Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin B) 2010, by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger C) 2011, by Jack Dorsey and Noah Glass D) 2009, by Kevin Systrom and Mark Zuckerberg

Question 2 What was the approximate price Facebook paid to acquire Instagram in 2012?

A) $500 million B) $2 billion C) $1 billion D) $750 million

Question 3 The chapter states that the brain processes visual information considerably faster than text. This fact is significant for Instagram because it implies that:

A) Users can consume more information in the same amount of time on Instagram than on text platforms B) Emotional responses to images occur before deliberate, analytical processing can intervene C) Instagram users are less intelligent than users of text-based platforms D) Visual memory is more reliable than verbal memory

Question 4 Leon Festinger's social comparison theory (1954) proposes that humans compare themselves to others primarily because:

A) They enjoy competition and want to identify their relative rank B) In the absence of objective standards, social comparison is the primary mechanism of self-evaluation C) Social comparison is an evolutionary adaptation for mate selection D) Comparison to others is required to develop empathy

Question 5 In the context of social comparison theory, "upward comparison" refers to:

A) Comparing oneself to people who are socially above one's current peer group B) Comparing oneself to people perceived as superior on some dimension C) Looking at social media while lying down, so the phone is held above the face D) Comparing one's current self to a future ideal self

Question 6 The Fardouly et al. (2015) experimental study found that fifteen minutes of Facebook browsing, compared to a non-social-media internet activity, produced:

A) Increased body satisfaction and positive mood B) No significant difference in body satisfaction or mood C) Greater appearance dissatisfaction and lower positive mood, mediated by social comparison D) Increased social connectedness but decreased academic self-concept

Question 7 Mills et al. (2018) found that, compared to travel images, fitspiration images produced:

A) Greater motivation but equal body dissatisfaction B) Significantly greater body dissatisfaction and appearance comparison C) No difference in body dissatisfaction among women with prior body image concerns D) Greater body satisfaction due to their motivational framing

Question 8 The "awareness doesn't protect" finding refers to the research result that:

A) Users who are aware of Instagram's popularity do not experience greater comparison effects B) Informing users that images are edited does not reliably reduce body image effects C) Adolescents are unaware of the social comparison they experience on Instagram D) Platform designers are unaware of the harms their products cause

Question 9 Instagram shifted from a chronological to an algorithmic feed in:

A) 2014 B) 2018 C) 2016 D) 2012

Question 10 According to the chapter, Instagram's Explore page surfaces content:

A) Only from accounts the user follows, ranked by recency B) Exclusively from verified creators and brands C) From any account on the platform, selected by algorithmic prediction of user interest D) From local users within a fifty-mile radius of the user's location

Question 11 Frances Haugen's disclosures in October 2021 revealed internal Facebook research finding that:

A) Instagram's effects on teen girls were comparable to those of television advertising B) Instagram makes body image issues worse for one in three teen girls C) Instagram had no statistically significant effect on teen mental health outcomes D) Teenagers who used Instagram more than two hours daily had improved social relationships

Question 12 The Haugen documents were significant partly because they revealed a gap between:

A) Instagram's user base in developed and developing countries B) Facebook's public statements minimizing harm and its internal research identifying specific harms C) The mental health effects of Instagram and those of TikTok D) Facebook's revenue from Instagram and its revenue from Facebook proper

Question 13 Instagram Stories, launched in August 2016, were explicitly modeled on a feature from which competing platform?

A) TikTok B) Twitter C) Snapchat D) Pinterest

Question 14 Which of the following best explains why Instagram Stories create urgency-driven checking behavior?

A) Stories contain limited-time promotional offers from advertisers B) Stories disappear after twenty-four hours, creating a time-bound window for viewing C) Users receive a notification fine if they miss a Story from a close friend D) The Story format compresses video to require faster consumption

Question 15 Instagram Reels, launched in 2020, represented Instagram's response to the competitive threat from:

A) YouTube Shorts B) Pinterest Video C) TikTok D) Snapchat Spotlight

Question 16 Instagram's like count removal experiment began in which country in 2019?

A) United States B) Australia C) Canada D) United Kingdom

Question 17 The final outcome of Instagram's like count experiment was:

A) Permanent global removal of all public like counts B) A user-choice model where individuals could opt to show or hide like counts C) Restoration of full like counts after user protests D) Replacement of like counts with comment counts as the primary engagement metric

Question 18 The chapter uses Erving Goffman's concept of "front stage" and "backstage" to analyze Instagram. In this framework, Instagram represents:

A) A backstage space where authentic self-presentation is possible B) A neutral stage where all types of self-presentation are equally valued C) The front stage made material and permanent — a space for curated identity performance D) An audience that evaluates performances without participating in them

Question 19 Which of the following best describes the "asymmetry of access" that makes Instagram comparison structurally disadvantageous for users?

A) High-follower accounts get more algorithmic distribution than low-follower accounts B) Users compare their unfiltered reality to others' curated, edited, and algorithmically selected presentations C) Verified accounts have access to analytics that ordinary users cannot see D) Brand accounts receive promotional placement unavailable to personal accounts

Question 20 Instagram Shopping, launched in 2018, functioned as an engagement optimization tool by:

A) Giving users discounts for sharing products to their followers B) Reducing the friction between aspirational social comparison and consumer purchase C) Allowing brands to pay for guaranteed placement in algorithmic feeds D) Creating a separate shopping feed distinct from the social content feed

Question 21 The chapter's discussion of the creator incentive structure argues that the creator economy on Instagram:

A) Rewards authenticity and unfiltered self-expression above all other content types B) Creates incentives to produce maximally aspirational content, which is structurally misaligned with user welfare C) Benefits users by providing them with diverse, high-quality content for free D) Is irrelevant to user body image outcomes, which are determined by peer comparison only

Question 22 Which of the following best captures the paradox illustrated by Maya's Instagram use?

A) Maya uses Instagram for social connection but is unaware of its comparison effects B) Maya knows Instagram is artificial and curated yet still experiences its negative psychological effects C) Maya's awareness of Instagram's harms has led her to successfully reduce her daily use D) Maya uses Instagram more than her peers but experiences fewer comparison effects due to her media literacy

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