Oral Presentation: Instagram's Impact on Body Image and Confidence

This oral presentation delves into the research design investigating the influence of Instagram on users' self-identity, confidence, and mental health. It focuses on the correlation between Instagram use and its impact on online and offline behaviors, particularly among young adults aged 17-25. The research draws upon readings from Boyd and Marshall to understand the complexities of social media engagement and the construction of online personas. The methodologies employed include surveys, questionnaires, direct interviews, literature review, and contextual analysis, with a strong emphasis on ethical considerations to protect participant confidentiality. The ultimate goal is to provide informative insights into the potential effects of Instagram on users' psychological well-being and contribute to a broader understanding of social media's impact on society.

Running head: Oral presentation 1
Oral Presentation: Project Design and Ethical Reflection
Name of student
Name of institution
Name of course
Date of submission

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Ladies and Gentlemen
I would like to use this short session to give a condensed picture of the components of my
research design. My research is entire based on the influence of social media among the users.
The procedures involved shall seek to establish the impacts that social media has on the users.
The social media is a wide concept in itself and may involve various components like Facebook,
Twitter and Instangram, however, my main focus will be on the use of Instagram and the
possible effects that this may have on individual’s confidence and body image. My initial
strategy was to explore the relationship between the use of Instangram and its impacts on the
users’ mental health. However, based on the feedback obtained from the teacher, I shall narrow
down the approach to establishing the relationship between the social media, self identity and
confidence. While going through the paces of this research, there are specific questions which
shall remain a guideline in a bid to adequately respond to the research problem. Is there a direct
impact of Instagram on the users’ self confidence? Are these impacts positive or negative? Are
there ways in which the use of social media could be made more objective and productive to
those who embrace the new ideas? Each stage of my research through the use of effective
methodologies shall seek to respond to the questions above.
The use of Instagram may have direct impacts both on the online and offline users.
Various arguments have been fronted and numerous research done on the impacts of social
media especially on the current generation. In my research, I shall derive the concepts and
arguments from a selected list of readings. This shall help widen my point of view on the core
research process while giving me the opportunity to interact with other people’s opinions in line
with the research problem. For instance, the research shall draw from Boyd’s position in his
article It's complicated: the social lives of networked teens. He is obvious concerned with the

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teens’ engagement on the social media and the possible impacts of these activities on the lives of
this generation. I chose the reading due to its rich content and the discussion which will further
help us understand the reason behind some teens’ behaviors in relation to social media use.
Marshall in The celebrity persona pandemic also outlines the kind of obsession that people have
with the social media and the way in which this could be affecting their image and personalities.
The author’s arguments here will definitely be helpful as I seek to discuss the variations in
behavior exhibited by Instagram users.
My research problem shall be anchored on self and identity as the key concept. The social
platform presents a good opportunity for the teens to express themselves and turn gain
appreciation which may build self confidence. However, the possibility of uploading unfiltered
images has changed the whole narrative when it comes to social media use. We post things
online in order to establish our identity. When we miss the expected appreciation, our self
confidence is likely to be dented. In my research, I shall explore the link between online and
offline users and self confidence as well as identity. To further indicate the impacts of social
media, my research shall equally address the correlation between social media use and mental
complications.
I intend to use Instagram as the primary aspect of media to be investigation. The
collection of the required information shall target the age group of 17-25 since this is the group
that frequently uses Instagram. My focus will mainly be on people who use Instagram on a daily
basis and any respondent below this age shall need to seek the parents’ consent. In addition to
these peoples’ opinions, I shall also base my findings on real life examples for instance Kim
Kardashian and Amanda Lee to show how Instagram use impacts the lives of the users.

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I will use research, surveys, questionnaires, direct interviews, literature review and
contextual analysis as my main approaches in data collection. Despite the existence of numerous
mental health problems, the process of data collection shall specifically seek to deduce the
mental health complications that can be associated with social media use. The surveys and
interviews have been designed for people who frequently use Instagram. It shall target a total of
50 people for the survey and 5 for the interviews. The process shall be guided by a set of
questions to which the participants are expected to respond. My survey and interviews have been
designed based on ethical considerations in order to ensure that the confidentiality of the
information obtained from the participants shall be upheld at all times. This is because of the
sensitivity of some of the responses likely to be obtained from the process which when leaked
might lead to low self esteem and confidence.
With the strategies outlined above, I believe the research process shall be all but a success. The
information obtained and discussed shall not only be informative to this class but to the society
around us as well.