Social media giant Facebook's internal research shows that Instagram, its photo and video sharing app, contributes to increased levels of anxiety and depression among teenagers, especially girls, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
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Instagram is more popular among teens and young adults than Facebook. According to the WSJ, more than 40% of Instagram's users are 22 years old and younger,
"Thirty-two percent of teen girls said that when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse," a Facebook internal document reviewed by The Wall Street Journal said. "Comparisons on Instagram can change how young women view and describe themselves."
The report further said that in 2019, a Facebook internal presentation, warned that Instagram "makes body image issues worse for one in three teen girls."
Even worse, another presentation found that a small percentage of British and American teen Instagram users said they started thinking suicidal thoughts due to the service, the WSJ cited the findings.
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg was aware of the findings, the paper said.
In an internal memo viewed by BuzzFeed News Instagram Vice President of Product Vishal Shah said, "We have identified youth work as a priority for Instagram and have added it to our H1 priority list.
"We will be building a new youth pillar within the Community Product Group to focus on two things: (a) accelerating our integrity and privacy work to ensure the safest possible experience for teens and (b) building a version of Instagram that allows people under the age of 13 to safely use Instagram for the first time," he said.
Facebook chose to respond with a company blog post.
"While the [WSJ] story focuses on a limited set of findings and casts them in a negative light, we stand by this research. It demonstrates our commitment to understanding complex and difficult issues young people may struggle with, and informs all the work we do to help those experiencing these issues."
The blog post said the data found that social media services like Facebook and Instagram "are not inherently good or bad for people," and, "what seems to matter most is how people use social media, and their state of mind when they use it."
In a blog post, Instagram's head of public policy, Karina Newton, said the social media app is "researching ways to pull users away from dwelling" on certain types of Instagram posts.
"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."
The report seems to have exacerbated US lawmakers' concerns over Facebook's stated intent to create a version of Instagram for kids under age 13.
Congresswoman Lori Trahan (D-Mass), who has previously rebuked Facebook for even considering such a product, called on it to immediately abandon plans for Instagram for Kids and focus instead on protecting existing young users.
"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," she 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."
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash), the top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said in a statement that Facebook "refused to comply" with a request from Republicans on the committee in March asking for its internal research on its products' impact on kids' mental health.
US media quoted a Facebook spokesperson as saying that that "due to the proprietary nature of the research and confidentiality concerns for participants in the studies, it can be difficult to share internal data outside of the company."
Still, the social media giant "seeks to be more transparent" about its internal studies, he said.
"This also leaves us wondering what else they are hiding," McMorris Rodgers said. "We will continue to demand transparency from Facebook and other Big Tech companies, especially as it relates to the harm their products have on our children."
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