Instagram Data Access Pilot for Well-being Research

Overview

There have been a number of calls for social media and other technology companies to share data with researchers for a wide variety of scholarly purposes. In particular, there is interest among researchers, policy makers, and the general public in how social media data can improve scholarly understanding of well-being. While social media data is typically logged for the purposes of providing digital services and not for the purposes of scholarly research, social media data has the potential to contribute to understanding of well-being when combined with other sources of data such as from surveys or other behavioral studies.

This pilot program aims to share certain Instagram data with independent academic researchers to use in conjunction with their own study data on social or emotional health. This pilot program will allow selected academic researchers to obtain consent from their study participants to share select data from their Instagram account(s). This pilot program will enable rigorous, transparent, and ethical research on the social and emotional health of teens and young adults.

The submission and review processes will be administered by the Center for Open Science (COS) with the substantive peer review managed by an academic Editorial Board convened by COS. Meta will not evaluate or be involved in the selection of submissions at any step in the process, except to respond to the data requests.

Using innovative methods from the open science movement to promote rigor and transparency of research, this pilot presents a new approach to industry-academia partnerships for accessing industry data.

Research Projects

As part of the pilot, four research teams were selected through a competitive call for proposals. These studies explore how Instagram use relates to mental and emotional health using real-time data and open, rigorous methods. Each project is being published as a Registered Report in Lifecycle Journal, a COS initiative that promotes transparency across the full research lifecycle. As Stage 1 research plans are published, they’ll be linked here for easy access.

Well-Being Associations with Daily Activities on Instagram and Moderation by Beliefs About Social Media Addiction

This study investigates how specific Instagram behaviors—such as posting, liking, commenting, and browsing—are associated with daily well-being among young adults. It also examines whether users’ beliefs about the addictive nature of social media influence these relationships. Over a 30-day period, participants will complete daily surveys while their Instagram activity data is collected through Meta’s account authorization flow.

Decoding Instagram Use: The Impact of Content Engagement and Individual Differences on Young Adults’ Well-Being

This longitudinal study explores how different types of content engagement on Instagram impact young adults’ psychological and physical well-being. The research includes interventions that aim to increase exposure to beneficial content and reduce harmful experiences like online hate or cyberbullying. The study also considers how individual differences shape these effects over time.

Social Media Reward Sensitivity as a Risk Factor for Depression

This project examines how sensitivity to social media rewards—such as likes, comments, and messages—relates to mood, anxiety, and depression. Using real-time behavioral data and weekly surveys, the team will test how these rewards influence Instagram use and mental health. The study also includes experimental components, asking some participants to turn off notifications to assess whether this change improves well-being.

Reel Feelings: Reciprocal Relationships between Instagram Use and Emotions

This study explores the reciprocal relationship between emotions and Instagram use: how emotional states can shape app use and how app use affects emotions. By combining real-time Instagram activity data with in-the-moment emotional tracking, the research focuses on adolescents and young adults, populations often seen as most vulnerable to social media’s effects on mental health.

Enhancing Transparency and Reproducibility

In this pilot program, the Registered Reports publishing model will be implemented in COS’s Lifecycle Journal project that promotes transparency of the full research lifecycle and diversification in the evaluation of scholarly research. Project proposals, peer reviews, outputs, and outcomes will be transparently, publicly reported to the fullest extent possible.

Research Focus Areas

Proposed studies must fit into one or more of the following research areas to be considered for the pilot (see the RFP for details):

Strength Comparisons. Studies investigating or comparing differences in potential positive and negative associations of Instagram use with other potential correlates of the social or emotional health of teens.
National or Regional Comparisons. Studies investigating or comparing differences across countries or regions of the world in potential positive or negative associations of Instagram and other social media use with the social or emotional health of teens and young adults.
Social, Cultural, and Contextual Understanding. Studies comparing differences across other large population groups in potential positive or negative associations of Instagram and other social media use with the social or emotional health of teens or young adults.
Explanations for Observed Associations. Studies investigating why statistical relationships between Instagram and social or emotional health of teens or young adults might be observed.

If you have any questions, contact us at contactmetapilot@cos.io.

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