*Facebook’s photo-sharing app Instagram is harmful to teenagers, according to a Wall Street Journal report published Tuesday.
Here’s more from CNBC:
The Journal cited internal Facebook studies over the past three years that examined how Instagram affects its young user base, with teenage girls being most notably harmed. The company is in the process of making a version of Instagram for kids.
According to the report, researchers warned Instagram’s Explore page, which serves users curated posts from a wide range of accounts, can push users into content that can be harmful. The app also has a culture of posting only the best pictures and moments, and it operates as an addictive product.
“Aspects of Instagram exacerbate each other to create a perfect storm,” the research said, according to the Journal.
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“Thirty-two percent of teen girls said that when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse,” the researchers reportedly wrote, while 14% of boys in the U.S. said the popular Instagram app made them feel insecure.
Instagram’s head of public policy, Karina Newton, responded to the reporting in a blog post.
“We’re exploring ways to prompt them to look at different topics if they’re repeatedly looking at this type of content,” Newton said. “We’re cautiously optimistic that these nudges will help point people towards content that inspires and uplifts them, and to a larger extent, will shift the part of Instagram’s culture that focuses on how people look.”
Following the Journal’s report, Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Mass called for Facebook to “immediately abandon plans for Instagram for Kids.”
“Facebook’s internal documents show that the company’s failure to protect children on Instagram – especially young girls – is outright neglect, and it’s been going on for years,” Trahan said in a statement.
“Facebook has no business developing additional social media platforms explicitly designed for our children when they can’t be trusted to keep their current house in order.”
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