Impact of Instagram filters on young women’s body image

Ritika Arya

Diplomová práce

Anotace:

Instagram has become a dominant visual platform among young women, shaping how appearance and self-presentation are understood within digital culture. The normalisation of filters and editing tools has introduced new aesthetic standards that blur the boundary between enhanced and “natural”. This creates pressures that extend into everyday life. While existing research links curated social media imagery to body dissatisfaction, less attention has been given to how young women navigate these pressures in their daily interactions. This study examines how Instagram filters shape self-evaluation, and online self-presentation. Using a qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten women aged 18–28 from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds and analysed using thematic analysis. The findings show that filters encourage both self-enhancement and critical self-evaluation, increasing validation-seeking while creating tension between online and offline identities. Cultural expectations and gender norms further shape how participants engage with these tools. The study concludes that Instagram filters function not only as aesthetic features but as part of a broader digital environment that reinforces appearance-related expectations and influences how identity and beauty are understood.

Abstract:

Instagram has become a dominant visual platform among young women, shaping how appearance and self-presentation are understood within digital culture. The normalisation of filters and editing tools has introduced new aesthetic standards that blur the boundary between enhanced and “natural”. This creates pressures that extend into everyday life. While existing research links curated social media imagery to body dissatisfaction, less attention has been given to how young women navigate these pressures in their daily interactions. This study examines how Instagram filters shape self-evaluation, and online self-presentation. Using a qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten women aged 18–28 from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds and analysed using thematic analysis. The findings show that filters encourage both self-enhancement and critical self-evaluation, increasing validation-seeking while creating tension between online and offline identities. Cultural expectations and gender norms further shape how participants engage with these tools. The study concludes that Instagram filters function not only as aesthetic features but as part of a broader digital environment that reinforces appearance-related expectations and influences how identity and beauty are understood.

Keywords

Body Image, Instagram Filters, Comparison, Social Media.

Jazyk práce: angličtina

Datum vytvoření / odevzdání či podání práce: 4. 5. 2026

Obhajoba závěrečné práce

• Obhajoba proběhla 25. 5. 2026
• Vedoucí: M.A. Beatrice Elena Chromková Manea, Ph.D.
• Oponent: Mgr. Dominika Perdoch Sladká, Ph.D.

Masarykova univerzita

Fakulta sociálních studií

Magisterský studijní program / obor:
Sociology / Sociology