Is your Instagram account making you a jealous person?

Is your instagram making you jealous — (Image credit: Getty)

Should you hit that unfollow button?

We all love to look into the lives of celebrities and flippantly hand out likes like they’re going out of fashion. Whether it’s their latest selfie; their new business venture; the latest addition to their roster of pets, we just can’t help ourselves with staying up to date with their every move.

But when does staying in the know become an unhealthy obsession? And when do we need to hit that unfollow button? After the news that your filter on Instagram could reveal whether you’re suffering from depression, it’s certainly worth thinking about.

According to a recent study (by www.VoucherCodesPro.co.uk), the list of reasons we unfollow our favourite celebrities is long and varied, but in that list a pattern emerged and the green-eyed monster came up trumps as the most popular opinion with 79% of people saying so.

Their luxurious lifestyles, money and relationship status’ were some of the reasons people felt jealousy towards their followers and in most cases, this would result with that unfollow button being hit. Another grievance we hold is seeing the amount of freebies celebrities receive – even when they can surely afford it all. (Have you see what’s in the $216,000,00 Oscar’s goodie bags?)

Perhaps the most surprising detail from the research was that when asked if they still checked up on accounts they dislike and don’t follow, over half of the answers were a resounding yes, with 51% saying they check up once a week.

Whilst celebrities have been the focus of this, it’s safe to assume this extends to ex-boyfriends, frenemies and all those people we know we shouldn’t be following. Which brings us to the question that, if we know something is not good for us, why do we do it to ourselves? Let’s just remember, curiosity killed the cat. And, no-one wants that to happen really.

Sunil Makan is the Editor of British Marie Claire. With over 15 years of publishing experience, working on print publications and their digital counterparts, national newspapers and digital pure plays he is an Editor, Strategist, Content Producer, Creative Director and Brand Consultant.

Sunil’s specialisms include Fashion, Beauty and Grooming, Lifestyle and Culture. Prior to Marie Claire, Sunil worked at ELLE, InStyle and Shortlist Media and freelanced at various other titles.