Blurring the boundaries of the self: Instagram's impact on bodily identity and multisensory experience among young adults

Social media use is believed to shift users' focus to the outer body (i.e., physical appearance). However, this perspective may simplify the relationship between social media use and body perception. This study aimed to extend current knowledge by examining how three Instagram usage variables (i.e., daily time spent on Instagram, years of Instagram use, and Instagram beauty filter use) affect not only body image, but also individuals’ inner body perception (i.e., interoception) and the integration of internal and external bodily experiences (i.e., embodiment). A sample of 95 young adults (64% women; M age = 25.8 years, SD = 4.25) completed self-reported measures of social media usage and body image concerns, underwent a heartbeat tracking task for assessing cardiac interoceptive accuracy and confidence, and experienced two virtual reality-based body illusions assessing face and full-body embodiment. Following multiple linear regression analyses, no social media usage variables were significantly associated with body image concerns or interoception. However, years of Instagram use and Instagram beauty filter use were uniquely associated with heightened susceptibility to face and full-body embodiment, respectively. We hypothesized that prolonged Instagram use and exposure to idealized, homogenized appearance-focused content may blur the perceptual boundary between self and others, a central process to bodily identity. Over time, this could contribute to an erosion of bodily identity. These results highlight a novel pathway through which social media use may shape self-perception: not by altering body image but by disrupting the integration of internal and external bodily experiences.