Facebook / Instagram Execs Knew Negative Impact for Teans

According to the Wall Street Journal, top Facebook officials were aware that Instagram can have a negative impact on mental health, body image and more for teenagers, particularly teenage girls. Researchers who work for the social media giant found that some of the problems were specific to Instagram and not social media as a whole for teens, according to the article. In a study of teens in the U.S. and the U.K., Facebook found that over 40% of Instagram users who reported feeling “unattractive” traced that feeling back to the platform. “Thirty-two percent of teen girls said that when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse.” Researchers shared in a March 2020 slide presentation posted to Facebook’s internal message board, reviewed by the Journal.

The research report from 2019 stated, “We make body image issues worse for one in three teen girls.” Another read, “Teens blame Instagram for increases in the rate of anxiety and depression,” according to the Journal. Although Facebook has taken some steps to potentially reduce negative impacts for teens, such as removing counts of “likes,” the company has publicly downplayed Instagram’s impacts. The research from Facebook does indicate that not all teens experience harmful effects from using the app. For many, connecting with peers and expressing themselves outweighed potential “negative social comparison.” Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., in August requested that Zuckerberg release Facebook’s internal research on mental health impacts on young people. Facebook sent the senators a six-page letter that did not include its own studies, the Journal noted.



Credits:
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/14/facebook-documents-show-how-toxic-instagram-is-for-teens-wsj.html