Instagram bad for girls’ self-image

Although Facebook is aware of the negative impact of Instagram on the mental health and body image teenage girls, the company is still considering creating an Instagram specifically designed for kids.

A New the Wall Street newspaper report shows that the company has performed significant internal research which confirms that its platform worsens body image problems teenage. WSJ reviewed leaked internal Instagram documents that show that starting in 2019, Facebook has been running focus groups, large-scale surveys and journal studies to examine how Instagram as a platform affects mental health teenagers. The results are unambiguous, but Facebook continues to

A Facebook study of teenagers in the US and UK found that more than 40 percent of Instagram users who said they felt “unattractive” and around 25% of those who said they felt ‘not well enough’ said that these feelings started on the app. Currently, more than 40 percent of Instagram users are 22 or younger, and approximately 22 million teens log on to Instagram in the United States every day.

“Thirty-two percent of teenage girls said that when they felt bad in their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse,” the researchers said in a March 2020 slide presentation posted on Facebook’s internal bulletin board, reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. “Instagram comparisons can change the way young women see and describe themselves. “

Slide from 2019 presentation says Instagram is making body image issues worse for one in three teenage girls. “Teens blame Instagram for the increased rates of anxiety and depression,” another slide said. “This reaction was spontaneous and consistent across all groups. “

Despite this huge amount of internal data, when Senators Richard Blumenthal and Marsha Blackburn sent a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in August 2021 asking him to publish the company’s internal research on the impacts of its platforms on mental health, Facebook responded by saying there were issues with conducting research on these subjects and saying that they were “unaware of a consensus among studies or experts that screen time is” too much. “

“Facebook’s responses were so evasive – not even answering all of our questions – that they really raise questions about what Facebook might be hiding. ” Blumenthal said WSJ in an email. “Facebook appears to be taking inspiration from the Big Tobacco handbook, targeting teens with potentially dangerous products while hiding the science in public.”

Wednesday, three Democratic senators sent another letter to Zuckerberg, specifically expressing concerns about the company’s intention to release an Instagram app aimed at children under 13 and citing its testimony to Congress in March saying that research into the impact of social media platforms on social media children’s mental health was “inconclusive”.

“Although you have publicly stated to Congress that” research [I have] ” the senators wrote.

“Children and teens are particularly vulnerable populations online, and these findings paint a clear and devastating picture of Instagram as an app that poses a significant threat to the well-being of young people. ” they added. “We are deeply concerned that your company continues to fail in its obligation to protect young users and has yet to commit to ending plans to launch new platforms targeting children and adolescents. “