Instagram may seem like the perfect social media platform. You edit your pictures as much as you would like, post them and go. But sadly, it’s not that simple.
In recent research done by Ditch the Label, an international anti-bullying charity, it was revealed that Instagram is the app where cyber bullying occurs the most.
People who keep their accounts open for the public to see are more liable to be attacked on social media than those who keep their accounts private.
When you do privatise your account, you control who can follow you and who can see your pictures. But public accounts… not so much. Even those who are not following you can glance through your pictures. And although having a public account makes it easier for you to either advertise yourself or your products, you are opening yourself up to criticism. And the trolls aren’t holding back, it seems.Over the past year, the Ditch The Label team did extensive research and surveys, and it was revealed that 42% of young people have been cyber bullied on Instagram. Facebook came in a close second with 37%. SnapChat was surprisingly the third social network, while WhatsApp was the fourth.
“Growing up in a digital world comes with a unique set of challenges that often have an amplified impact upon younger generations. We wanted to understand what kind of impact the internet and social media is having upon the very real behaviours and attitudes of our sample,” it states in the report.
In the revealing report, it further stated that one in two people have been bullied at some point – with 50% believing that it was because of their appearance. Forty percent of the group believed that it was because of their interests or hobbies. The same group said that they developed social anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts because of bullying.
Remember, if you’re having issues with someone on Instagram, you can report them, block the user, or you have the option to share your photos with specific followers only.
