By Kimberlee Speakman
Attorneys in at least 11 U.S. states announced last Thursday that they have launched an investigation into the effects of Instagram on children and teens, but also to see if Instagram parent company Facebook or Meta, as it is now called, violated it. law probably ignoring internal research that has shown that implementation has an adverse effect on young people.
Attorneys in New York, Connecticut, California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Vermont said in a statement that Facebook would consider whether the investigation state consumer protection law ”and if it“ put the public at risk ”by promoting and providing access to the application to people under the age of 18, despite being aware of the negative effects that social media has on them.
An in-depth Facebook survey of the effects of Instagram on adolescent mental health found that Instagram exacerbated “problems with their body image” for “one in three teenage girls”, while 20% of teens rejected responsibilities in the application because it made them feel worse about themselves and 6% of teens showed suicidal tendencies due to the application.
According to prosecutors, the investigation will focus on “techniques” allegedly used by Facebook to “increase the frequency and duration” used by children and teens in the application, and how they are affected by its frequent use. implementation.
Facebook said in a statement that the research showed a “deep misunderstanding of events” and that the company was creating new features to help people deal with “negative social comparisons or issues concerning their bodies” as well as “mechanisms”. parental supervision ”.
The company also said it was “exploring ways” to offer teens “even more age-appropriate experiences”.
“Our coalition will not hesitate to take any action deemed necessary to protect children and young adults from the harmful effects of Instagram and other social networking platforms for so many,” said the New York attorney general. , Leticia James, in a press release issued on Thursday.
Zuckerberg’s answer
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said reports of research into Instagram’s impact on teens were “misinterpreted” and that the survey “actually showed” that the app helps teens when they are having a difficult time. hours ”.
Zuckerberg said the research showed that most teens with eating problems told them that the app “makes these difficult times better, not worse.”
A post on the Instagram blog also stated that the effects of the app on teens are “mixed” and that it can be negative or positive depending on “their mental state when they use it”.
Not on the children’s Instagram
On the occasion of the revealing article in the Wall Street Journal about the research on the effect of Instagram on the mental health of teenagers, the US MPs again asked, as in September, Facebook to abandon its plans to release a version of Instagram for children.
Instagram responded that it would “freeze” the development of the project, but reiterated its belief that parents should have the choice of whether to allow their children to access a version of Instagram designed for them. ”.
However, Facebook informant Francis Haugen, when she testified in Congress in October, claimed that the company ignored the internal investigation into the effect of Instagram on teenagers and put its “profits above people”.
Facebook denies this accusation, stating that it will use the research in order to improve Instagram.
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Source From: Forbes
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