Filtering the truth on Instagram: Exploring #nofilter images when a filter has in fact been used, a mixed methods approach using Netlytic and photo analysis

Abstract

Background: Exposure to the media’s portrayal of the ideal body, including social media (SM), may influence body dissatisfaction. Many users are now relying on photo editing techniques, like filtering, in order to receive more positive attention (i.e., likes/comments). It is often hard to tell whether an image has been edited, leading many users to make upward social comparisons. Recently, the hashtag #nofilter has become popular to highlight that no filters were applied prior to posting. Aim: To complete a descriptive analysis examining the use of the hashtag #nofilter by Instagram users over 7 days. Of particular interest were those who used #nofilter but did filter their images. Methods: A mixed methods approach was utilized. A text/content analysis of 18,366 images was conducted using the Netlytic program. For those images that used a filter, author/image information was manually obtained and a photo-coding scheme for this group of images was implemented. Results: Of 18,366 images that used #nofilter, 12% (N=1630) did use a filter. Listwise deletions were conducted (n=286) and 1344 images remained. Among images with a filter, the majority were from personal accounts (90%) and belonged to females (55%) compared to males (34%) and unknown (11%). Further, likes on the #nofilter image (M=5.01, SD=19.89), total number of posts (M=642.41, SD=1329.54), total number of followers (M=1625.64, SD=6339.11), and total number following (M=649.92, SD=1012.75) were also collected. The coding of images indicated 704 (52%) had people in them, 425 (32%) were of scenery, 82 (6%) contained food, and 294 (22%) were categorized as other (animal/quote/art piece). Conclusions: This study highlights that many people using #nofilter do filter their images. A limitation was that other photo editing techniques (besides filtering) where not analyzed, thus still potentially aiding in unrealistic ideals. Further research into why people are being deceptive on SM is needed