Instagram plays a central role in youth lives across Asia and the Middle East, offering opportunities for cultural expression amid restrictive environments. This study examines how Instagram use relates to Positive Youth Development (PYD) among 410 Kurdish university students in Iran, focusing on seven developmental assets (7Cs: confidence, competence, connection, character, caring, creativity, and contribution). Using partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) analysis, results show that Instagram intensity enhances creativity and contribution but has limited effects on other assets. Life purpose strongly predicts PYD outcomes, reflecting tensions between personal growth and social constraints, highlighting Instagram as both an identity space and a site shaped by censorship.
Abou KaramS (2023) Social media and the youth activism: the case of generation Z in Iran. Journal for Iranian Studies7(17): 7–18.
2.
AlhabashSMaM (2017) A tale of four platforms: motivations and uses of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat among college students. Social Media + Society 32056305117691544(1). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305117691544
3.
AllenKARyanTGrayDL, et al. (2014) Social media use and social connectedness in adolescents: the positives and the potential pitfalls. The Educational and Developmental Psychologist31(1): 18–31.
4.
AlsalemF (2019) Why do they post? Motivations and uses of Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter among Kuwait college students. Media Watch10(3): 550–567.
5.
AndalibiNOzturkPForteA (2017) Sensitive self-disclosures, responses, and social support on Instagram: the case of #depression. In: Proceedings of the 2017 ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing.
6.
AzmiFAAmielBYBalqisA, et al. (2022) Komunikasi Politik Anies Baswedan dalam Membentuk Opini Publik Melalui Media Sosial Menjelang Pemilihan Presiden 2024. PARAPOLITIKA: Journal of Politics and Democracy Studies3(2): 121–141.
7.
BateyM (2012) The measurement of creativity: from definitional consensus to the introduction of a new heuristic framework. Creativity Research Journal24(1): 55–65.
8.
BensonPL (2007) Developmental assets: An overview of theory, research, and practice. Approaches to Positive Youth Development33: 58.
9.
BurrowALRainoneN (2017) How many likes did I get?: Purpose moderates links between positive social media feedback and self-esteem. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology69: 232–236.
10.
BurrowALSprengRN (2016) Waiting with purpose: a reliable but small association between purpose in life and impulsivity. Personality and Individual Differences90: 187–189.
11.
CasalóLVFlaviánCGuinalíuM (2010) Antecedents and consequences of consumer participation in on-line communities: the case of the travel sector. International Journal of Electronic Commerce15(2): 137–167.
12.
ChiuC-MHuangH-Y (2015) Examining the antecedents of user gratification and its effects on individuals’ social network services usage: the moderating role of habit. European Journal of Information Systems24: 411–430.
13.
ClaffeyEBradyM (2014) A model of consumer engagement in a virtual customer environment. Journal of Customer Behaviour13(4): 325–346.
14.
CramerRDIII (1993) Partial least squares (PLS): its strengths and limitations. Perspectives in Drug Discovery and Design1(2): 269–278.
15.
DamonWMenonJBronkKC (2019) The development of purpose during adolescence. In: beyond the Self. London: Routledge, pp.119–128.
16.
DaneshAAthariSH (2024) Cyber activism in Iran: a case study. Social Media + Society10(3): 20563051241279258.
DeciELRyanRM (2000) The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry11(4): 227–268.
19.
DimitrovaRWiiumN (2021) Handbook of Positive Youth Development: advancing the next generation of research, policy and practice in global contexts. New York: Springer. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-70262-5_1
20.
DumasTMMaxwell-SmithMDavisJP, et al. (2017) Lying or longing for likes? Narcissism, peer belonging, loneliness and normative versus deceptive like-seeking on Instagram in emerging adulthood. Computers in Human Behavior71: 1–10.
21.
EkinciNAkatM (2023) The relationship between anxious-ambivalent attachment and social appearance anxiety in adolescents: the serial mediation of positive youth development and Instagram addiction. Psychological Reports 00332941231159600.
22.
FordKCVeletsianosGRestaP (2014) The structure and characteristics of #PhDChat, an emergent online social network. Journal of Interactive Media in Education.
23.
GaoWLiuZLiJ (2017) How does social presence influence SNS addiction? A belongingness theory perspective. Computers in Human Behavior77: 347–355.
24.
GeldhofGJBowersEPBoydMJ, et al. (2014) Creation of short and very short measures of the Five Cs of positive youth development. Journal of Research on Adolescence24(1): 163–176.
25.
GeldhofGJBowersEPMuellerMK, et al. (2015) The Five Cs model of positive youth development. Promoting Positive Youth Development: Lessons from the 4-H Study161–186.
26.
GuptaSBashirL (2018) Social networking usage questionnaire: development and validation in an Indian higher education context. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education19(4): 214–227.
27.
HairJFBlackWCBabinBJ, et al. (2006) Multivariate Data Analysis, 6th ed. Pearson Prentice Hall.
28.
HairJFRingleCMSarstedtM (2011) PLS-SEM: indeed a silver bullet. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice19(2): 139–152.
29.
HartmannTKlimmtCVordererP (2010) Telepresence and media entertainment. In Immersed in Media: Telepresence in Everyday Life137–157.
30.
HayesRACarrCTWohnDY (2016) It’s the audience: differences in social support across social media. Social Media + Society2(4): 2056305116678894.
31.
HenselerJRingleCMSarstedtM (2015) A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modelling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science43: 115–135.
32.
HighfieldTLeaverT (2015) A methodology for mapping Instagram hashtags. First Monday20(1): 1–11.
33.
HillPLEdmondsGWPetersonM, et al. (2016) Purpose in life in emerging adulthood: development and validation of a new brief measure. The Journal of Positive Psychology11(3): 237–245.
34.
HuangOCopelandL (2020) Gen Z, Instagram influencers, and hashtags’ influence on purchase intention of apparel. Academy of Marketing Studies Journal24(3): 1–14.
35.
IbbaSOrrùMPaniFE, et al. (2015) Hashtag of Instagram: from folksonomy to complex network. In: Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Knowledge Engineering and Ontology Development (KEOD 2015), SCITEPRESS.
36.
IlunoEUmoruHBelloS (2024) Effect of social media usage and demographic characteristics on creativity among women entrepreneurs in Anambra State. International Journal of Academic Research in Business & Social Sciences14(2).
37.
KandaA (2021a) Personal branding melalui Instagram. Al-mishbah: Jurnal Ilmu Dakwah Dan Komunikasi17(1): 45–66.
38.
KatzEHaasHGurevitchM (1973) On the use of the mass media for important things. American Sociological Review38: 164–181.
39.
KeldersSM (2019) Design for engagement of online positive psychology interventions. In: Positive Psychological Intervention Design and Protocols for Multi-cultural Contexts, 297–313.
40.
KhalilJFKraidyMM (2017) Arab television Industries. Bloomsbury Publishing.
41.
KimBKimY (2019) Facebook versus Instagram: how perceived gratifications and technological attributes are related to the change in social media usage. The Social Science Journal56(2): 156–167.
42.
KircaburunKAlhabashSTosuntaşŞB, et al. (2020) Uses and gratifications of problematic social media use among university students: a simultaneous examination of the Big Five of personality traits, social media platforms, and social media use motives. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction18(3): 525–547.
43.
KircaburunKGriffithsMD (2018) Instagram addiction and the big five of personality: the mediating role of self-liking. Journal of Behavioral Addictions7(1): 158–170.
44.
KocakENasirVATurkerHB (2020) What drives Instagram usage? User motives and personality traits. Online Information Review44(3): 625–643.
45.
KuoRJacksonSJ (2023) The political uses of memory: Instagram and Black-Asian solidarities. Media, Culture & Society 01634437231185963.
LearyMRBaumeisterRF (2000) The nature and function of self-esteem: sociometer theory. In: Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 32: 1–62. Elsevier.
48.
LeeELeeJ-AMoonJH, et al. (2015) Pictures speak louder than words: motivations for using Instagram. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking18(9): 552–556.
49.
LernerRM (2004) Liberty: Thriving and Civic Engagement Among America’s Youth. Sage.
50.
LernerRMLernerJVBowersEP, et al. (2015) Positive youth development and relational-developmental-systems. Handbook of Child Psychology and Developmental Science, 1–45.
51.
LimniouMAscroftYMcLeanS (2021) Differences between Facebook and Instagram usage in regard to problematic use and well-being. Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science, 1–10.
52.
LimniouMAscroftYMcLeanS (2022) Differences between Facebook and Instagram usage in regard to problematic use and well-being. Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science7(2): 141–150.
53.
LoukianovABurninghamKJacksonT (2020) Young people, good life narratives, and sustainable futures: the case of Instagram. Sustainable Earth3(1): 1–14.
54.
McKnightPEKashdanTB (2009) Purpose in life as a system that creates and sustains health and well-being: an integrative, testable theory. Review of General Psychology13(3): 242–251.
55.
MainardiAGiorgiA (2023) Re-shaping the boundaries of feminism: the case of #femminismoislamico on Instagram. Partecipazione E Conflitto16(2): 339–354.
56.
Marcella-HoodMMarcellaR (2023) Purposive and non-purposive information behavior on Instagram. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science55(3): 634–657.
57.
MarcusS-R (2015) Picturing ourselves into being: assessing identity, sociality and visuality on Instagram. In: Proceedings of the 65th Annual International Communication Association (ICA) Conference, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
58.
Meleo-ErwinZBaschCHFeraJ, et al. (2020) Celiac disease: the use of Instagram in contending with chronic illness. Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet24(1): 35–42.
59.
MenonD (2022) Uses and gratifications of photo sharing on Instagram. International Journal of Human-computer Studies168: 102917.
60.
MeyerDL (1974) Statistical tests and surveys of power: a critique. American Educational Research Journal11(2): 179–188.
61.
MirantiPASariARamelanMR (2024) Influence of self-creativity and social media use on digital entrepreneurial intention among students at the University of Lampung. International Journal of Scientific Multidisciplinary Research2(5): 509–522.
62.
MuhammadFM (2018) Instagram effects as social media toward adolescence and young adult users: uses and gratification approach. International Conference of Communication Science Research (ICCSR2018).
63.
NadkarniAHofmannSG (2012) Why do people use Facebook?Personality and Individual Differences52(3): 243–249.
64.
NaziniNRajA (2023) Investigating the influence and credibility of Instagram on youth culture in Chennai’s social media landscape. Mass Communicator: International Journal of Communication Studies17(2): 24–27.
65.
Noelle-NeumannE (1974) The spiral of silence: a theory of public opinion. Journal of Communication24(2): 43–51.
66.
NonneckeBPreeceJ (2000) Lurker demographics: counting the silent. Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.
67.
NoonEJYangC-CPesoutO, et al. (2024) Insta-identity: the longitudinal reciprocal relationship between authentic and positive self-presentation on Instagram and the sexual identity development of sexual minority youth. Computers in Human Behavior158: 108278.
68.
ParkNKeeKFValenzuelaS (2009) Being immersed in social networking environment: Facebook groups, uses and gratifications, and social outcomes. Cyberpsychology & Behavior12(6): 729–733.
69.
PerrinA (2015) Social media usage. Pew Research Center125: 52–68.
70.
PriceLRobinsonL (2021) Tag analysis as a tool for investigating information behaviour: comparing fan-tagging on Tumblr, archive of our own and Etsy. Journal of Documentation77(2): 320–358.
71.
PrichardIO’TooleSWuY, et al. (2021) No likes, no problem? Users’ reactions to the removal of Instagram number of likes on other people’s posts and links to body image. Body Image38: 72–79.
72.
RauschnabelPASheldonPHerzfeldtE (2019) What motivates users to hashtag on social media?Psychology & Marketing36(5): 473–488.
73.
RingleCDa SilvaDBidoD (2015) Structural equation modeling with the SmartPLS.
74.
SagioglouCGreitemeyerT (2014) Facebook’s emotional consequences: why Facebook causes a decrease in mood and why people still use it. Computers in Human Behavior35: 359–363.
75.
Said-MetwalySVan den NoortgateWKyndtE (2017) Approaches to measuring creativity: a systematic literature review. Creativity Theories–Research–Applications4(2): 238–275.
76.
ScheierMFWroschCBaumA, et al. (2006) The life engagement test: assessing purpose in life. Journal of Behavioral Medicine29: 291–298.
77.
Serra-CantallopsARamon-CardonaJSalviF (2018) The impact of positive emotional experiences on eWOM generation and loyalty: the case of online hotel reviews. Tourism Management Perspectives28: 83–94.
78.
ShahpasandiFZareiANikabadiMS (2020) Consumers’ impulse buying behavior on Instagram: examining the influence of flow experiences and hedonic browsing on impulse buying. Journal of Internet Commerce19(4): 437–465.
79.
SheldonPBryantK (2016) Instagram: motives for its use and relationship to narcissism and contextual age. Computers in Human Behavior58: 89–97.
80.
SheldonPNewmanM (2019) Instagram and American teens: understanding motives for its use and relationship to excessive reassurance-seeking and interpersonal rejection. The Journal of Social Media in Society8(1): 1–16.
81.
ShermanLEPaytonAAHernandezLM, et al. (2016) The power of the like in adolescence: effects of peer influence on neural and behavioral responses to social media. Psychological Science27(7): 1027–1035.
82.
SitompulEVAnomE (2024) Anies Baswedan’s political communication style on Instagram. Jurnal Konseling Pendidikan Islam5(1): 63–75.
StegerMFSammanE (2012) Assessing meaning in life on an international scale: psychometric evidence for the meaning in life questionnaire–short form among Chilean households. International Journal of Wellbeing2(3).
85.
StegerMFOishiSKashdanTB (2009) Meaning in life across the life span: levels and correlates of meaning in life from emerging adulthood to older adulthood. The Journal of Positive Psychology4(1): 43–52.
86.
StreukensSLeroi-WereldsS (2016) Bootstrapping and PLS-SEM: a step-by-step guide to get more out of your bootstrap results. European Management Journal34(6): 618–632.
87.
TirrellJMDowlingEMGansertP, et al. (2020) Toward a measure for assessing features of effective youth development programs: contextual safety and the “big three” components of positive youth development programs in Rwanda. Child & Youth Care Forum.
88.
TreitelY (2020) The impact of Instagram usage and other social factors on self-esteem scores [ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, Walden University].
89.
ValenteMRenckensSBunders-AelenJ, et al. (2022) The #orthorexia community on Instagram. Eating and Weight Disorders—Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity27(2): 473–482.
90.
WeissSWilhelmOKyllonenP (2021) An improved taxonomy of creativity measures based on salient task attributes. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts.
91.
WeninggalihLFuadyM (2021) Hubungan kampanye politik calon presiden 2019 melalui media sosial Instagram dengan keputusan memilih mahasiswa Indonesia di Thailand. Jurnal Riset Public Relations: 22–32.
92.
WohnDYCarrCTHayesRA (2016) How affective is a “Like”? The effect of paralinguistic digital affordances on perceived social support. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking19(9): 562–566.
93.
WuJ-JChenY-HChungY-S (2010) Trust factors influencing virtual community members: a study of transaction communities. Journal of Business Research63(9–10): 1025–1032.
94.
ZargarSM (2020) Modeling the effect of Instagram addiction on self-confidence and students’ sense of happiness (Case: students of Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, 2019). Communication Research27(101): 75–94.
95.
ZhannaK (2019) #Likes: positive Instagram feedback, purpose in life and self-esteem [Dublin Business School]. Dublin Business School, Dublin, Ireland.
