Information Overload and Presented Lifestyle in Social Media: A Stress-Perspective on the Effects on Mental Health

To counteract the increasing number of people showing symptoms of depressive disorders since the outbreak of COVID-19, among others, the WHO suggests using social media more intensively to stay in contact and receive positive messages. However, existing literature indicates that this can have the opposite effect. Based on social comparison theory and technostress literature, we examine the impact of the constant confrontation with the overly optimistic presented lifestyle of social media influencers on Instagram on depression. Our quantitative study (N=191) based on structural equation modeling indicates that influencers' presented lifestyle has a substantial positive indirect effect on depression mediated through negative emotions. In contrast, positive self-esteem can help to reduce depression. We contribute to technostress literature, research on social comparison, and mental health research.1