Is your favourite Instagram filter quietly altering your sense of self?

Before you select your favourite filter on Instagram or Snapchat for the perfect picture or an aesthetically pleasing selfie, you may want to pause and consider what it is doing beyond your appearance. New research suggests that prolonged exposure to filtered images and highly curated social media content may subtly change how people perceive themselves, potentially blurring the boundaries between their own identity and the images they see online.

The study, published in Computers in Human Behaviour, found that long-term Instagram users were more likely to incorporate features of other faces into their own self-image and show greater susceptibility to body and face-related perceptual illusions. Researchers say the findings point to a novel way social media may influence self-perception, not necessarily by directly worsening body image, but by affecting how people integrate information about their bodies and identities.

Considering the growing influence of Instagram, Snapchat and other image-driven social media platforms, the findings could have important implications for understanding how digital environments shape self-awareness, especially among adolescents and young adults.

What did the study find?

Researchers examined whether different aspects of Instagram use—including time spent on the platform, years of usage and beauty-filter use—were linked to body image concerns, internal body awareness and bodily self-perception.

The study involved 95 young adults with an average age of 25.8 years. Participants completed questionnaires on social media use, body image and psychological well-being, underwent a heartbeat-tracking task to assess awareness of internal bodily signals, and took part in virtual-reality experiments designed to test how easily they could identify with another face or body.

Participants reported spending an average of about 63 minutes per day on Instagram and had used the platform for an average of 7.6 years.

Contrary to what many might expect, researchers did not find any significant relationship between Instagram use and body image concerns. Similarly, Instagram use was not associated with poorer awareness of internal bodily signals, known as interoception.

However, the findings became more interesting when researchers looked at embodiment—the way people perceive a body or face as belonging to themselves.

The study found that people who had used Instagram for more years were more likely to experience what researchers called "face embodiment." In practical terms, they were more likely to feel ownership over another face and perceive themselves as being located within that face during a virtual reality experiment.

"Years of Instagram use was a significant predictor of both face embodiment ownership and face embodiment location," the researchers reported.

Beauty-filter users also showed a distinctive pattern. Participants who reported using Instagram beauty filters were more likely to experience a stronger sense of agency over a virtual body, meaning they felt greater control over a body that was not actually their own.

How could social media influence self-perception?

While Instagram use did not appear to affect body dissatisfaction directly, researchers believe the findings may point to a different way social media influences self-perception.

The researchers argue that social media platforms expose users to a constant stream of visual information, encouraging them to focus heavily on appearance and external self-presentation.

"Social media use is believed to shift users' focus to the outer body (i.e., physical appearance)," the authors wrote.

Much of the existing research on social media has focused on body dissatisfaction, weight concerns and appearance comparisons. However, the researchers wanted to explore whether social media might affect deeper aspects of bodily experience.

To understand this, they examined embodiment - how the brain combines internal bodily sensations with external information such as sight and touch to create a stable sense of self.

The researchers suggest that years of scrolling through highly curated photographs, selfies and filtered content may train users to rely more heavily on external visual cues.

"When using Instagram, users are subjected to simultaneous visual, tactile, and auditory stimulation," the researchers wrote. "Over time, this engagement may potentially consolidate the neural pathways involved in visual-tactile integration."

They speculate that prolonged exposure to idealised and standardised beauty content may gradually shift attention away from internal bodily experiences and towards external appearance.

The study also highlights the growing popularity of beauty filters, which digitally alter facial features by smoothing skin, enlarging eyes, reshaping noses or modifying facial proportions. Previous research has described a phenomenon known as "Snapchat dysmorphia," in which individuals seek cosmetic procedures to resemble their filtered images.

In the current study, researchers found that beauty-filter use was linked to stronger embodiment responses, suggesting that actively modifying one's appearance online could influence how people perceive their bodies in subtle ways.

The authors emphasised that the effects observed were not simply about body dissatisfaction. Instead, they argue that social media may shape the integration of internal and external bodily experiences.

"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."

The researchers further proposed what they call the "Digital Erosion of Bodily Identity Hypothesis," which suggests that prolonged exposure to highly curated social media environments could gradually weaken the distinction between self and others at a perceptual level.

"We hypothesised that prolonged Instagram use and exposure to idealised, homogenised appearance-focused content may blur the perceptual boundary between self and others, a central process to bodily identity," they wrote.

According to the researchers, the widespread portrayal of idealised and standardised beauty aesthetics online may make people more likely to perceive similarities between themselves and others.

"The widespread portrayal of idealised, standardised appearance aesthetics on the platform fosters an environment where 'everyone looks the same'," they wrote.

According to their hypothesis, repeated exposure to such content may gradually blur self-other boundaries.

"If everyone looks the same, everyone is the same," the authors suggested while explaining the theoretical basis of their proposed model.

They emphasised that this process appeared particularly relevant to faces, which play a central role in identity, self-recognition and social interaction. Notably, participants who had spent more years on Instagram were more likely to experience changes in facial embodiment rather than body embodiment, suggesting that facial identity may be especially sensitive to long-term digital exposure.

Were there any limitations?

The researchers stressed that the findings should be interpreted cautiously and do not prove that Instagram directly changes identity or self-perception.

One major limitation is that the study was cross-sectional, meaning it captured data at a single point in time.

"Second, the cross-sectional design limits causal inferences; longitudinal studies are needed to explore the directionality of the assessed relationships," the researchers wrote.

As a result, it is impossible to determine whether Instagram use caused the observed changes or whether people who are naturally more susceptible to embodiment experiences are more likely to engage with social media in certain ways.

Another limitation relates to the sample itself. Most participants were white, university-educated young adults living in Italy, which limits how broadly the findings can be applied to other populations.

The researchers also acknowledged that they did not examine younger adolescents, despite adolescence being a critical period for identity formation and one of the age groups most heavily exposed to social media.

"Future work should investigate how social media use impacts adolescents' bodily identity," they wrote.

The study also relied on self-reported measures of Instagram use, which can introduce inaccuracies.

In addition, only a small proportion of participants reported using beauty filters, creating an imbalance between filter users and non-users.

"Findings involving beauty filter use should be interpreted cautiously and considered exploratory," the researchers noted.

The researchers further acknowledged that their measure of beauty-filter use was relatively simple and did not capture how frequently people used filters, what types of filters they preferred or why they used them.

Future studies, they said, should distinguish between active appearance modification, passive consumption of appearance-focused content and social media use unrelated to appearance.

Another limitation was that the study measured only certain aspects of body image. The researchers suggested that broader assessments covering body satisfaction, self-worth and emotional responses to appearance may reveal different patterns.

They also called for future research to explore how social media affects other aspects of bodily awareness and self-perception, including self-objectification and the brain's processing of multisensory information.

"Overall, in a world increasingly shaped by the proliferation of digital technologies and digitally mediated bodily selves, our study provides novel evidence that digital exposure can alter the multisensory foundations of bodily identity," the researchers concluded.

Expert insights

According to Ms Neha K, Specialist – Psychology, Aster CMI Hospital, Bengaluru, the distinction between body dissatisfaction and bodily self-perception is important. While body dissatisfaction reflects how people feel about their appearance, bodily self-perception relates to identity, body ownership and the sense of self.

"The finding that long-term Instagram users showed greater face embodiment and stronger agency over virtual bodies suggests that repeated exposure to curated images, selfies and beauty filters may influence how people integrate external visual representations into their self-concept," she said.

However, the absence of increased body dissatisfaction suggests users may not necessarily feel worse about their appearance. "Instead, prolonged engagement with digitally altered representations may subtly blur the boundaries between self and others, influencing self-recognition and bodily identity," she added.

Commenting on the impact of beauty filters, Ms Neha said adolescents may be particularly vulnerable because self-concept and body awareness are still developing during this stage of life.

"While Instagram use may not directly increase body dissatisfaction, repeated exposure to filtered and idealised content could influence deeper processes involved in self-recognition and identity formation," she said.

According to her, over time, digitally enhanced versions of oneself may begin to feel more familiar, potentially shaping self-perception and confidence even without obvious body image concerns.

Ms Neha said social media users can maintain a healthy sense of self by recognising that filtered images often represent edited versions of reality.

"Limiting excessive use of beauty filters, following diverse and realistic content creators, and spending time on activities that strengthen real-world connections can help reinforce a more authentic self-image," she said.

She added that digital literacy is particularly important for adolescents, helping them understand how filters and algorithms can shape perceptions of appearance and identity.

This story is done in collaboration with First Check, which is the health journalism vertical of DataLEADS