This study aimed to explore the indirect effects of appearance-related anxiety (ARA) on Instagram addiction (IA) through sequential mediators, namely social media activity intensity (SMAI) and Instagram feed dependency (IFD). The study also aimed to provide theoretical explanations for the observed relationships and contribute to the understanding of the complex interplay between appearance-related concerns, social media usage, and addictive behaviors in the context of IA. A sample of 306 participants was used for the analysis. The results of the sequential mediation analysis (SMA) revealed several important findings. Firstly, the mediation model demonstrated that SMAI mediated the relationship between ARA and IA. However, there was no direct relationship observed between ARA and SMAI. Secondly, the analysis showed that IFD acted as a second mediator in the relationship between ARA and IA. Both ARA and SMAI had significant direct effects on IA, indicating their individual contributions to addictive behaviors. Furthermore, the total effect model confirmed a positive relationship between ARA and IA. This finding suggests that ARA has a direct influence on the development of IA. The examination of indirect effects revealed that ARA indirectly influenced IA through the sequential mediators of SMAI, IFD, and ultimately IA itself. The completely standardized indirect effect of ARA on IA through these mediators was found to be significant. Overall, this study provides evidence for the indirect effects of ARA on IA and highlights the mediating roles of SMAI and IFD. These findings contribute to our understanding of the psychological mechanisms underlying the complex relationship between appearance-related concerns, social media usage, and the development of IA.