Follow or be followed: Exploring the links between Instagram popularity, social media addiction, cyber victimization, and subjective happiness in Italian adolescents

•We investigated the association between Instagram popularity and happiness.•We tested the mediating roles of cyber victimization and social media addiction.•Adolescents’ followers count showed a negative indirect effect on happiness.•Adolescents’ followers count showed an increase in social media addiction.•Adolescents’ followers count showed an exposure to cyber victimization. The aim of the study is to investigate the association between Instagram popularity and subjective happiness, and to test the mediating roles of cyber victimization and social media addiction. We recruited a sample of middle school students (N = 345; 49% males, age M: 13.31 years; SD = 1.42; range = 11–16) who reported having an active Instagram account. We collected the following data: sociodemographic data, Instagram activity indicators and followers/following counts, perceived social media addiction, cyber victimization, and subjective happiness. Adolescents’ followers count showed a negative indirect effect on subjective happiness via an increase in social media addiction and exposure to cyber victimization. In contrast, the following counts of adolescents show a positive indirect effect on subjective happiness via a decrease in social media addiction and exposure to cyber victimization. Findings seem to indicate that as adolescents become more popular on Instagram (i.e., as their followers count increases), it also increases the risk that they might develop a behavior addiction to Instagram use, and experience cyber aggressions, which in turn may have a negative impact on their psychological well-being. Instead, adolescents whose activity on Instagram is more passive, and less dominated by digital status seeking behaviors, may be less exposed to these negative consequences. Limits and future directions are discussed.