Facebook-owned Instagram has been criticised for keeping secret its internal research into the effect social media had on teenager users.
According to the Wall Street Journal, its studies showed teenagers blamed Instagram for increased levels of anxiety and depression.
Campaign groups and MPs have said it is proof the company puts profit first.
Instagram said the research showed its “commitment to understanding complex and difficult issues”.
The Wall Street Journal’s report, not disputed by Facebook, finds:
A 2019 presentation slide said: “We make body-image issues worse for one in three teenage girls”
Another slide said teenagers blamed Instagram for increased levels of anxiety and depression
In 2020, research found 32% of teenage girls surveyed said when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse. Some 13% of UK teenagers and 6% of US users surveyed traced a desire to kill themselves to Instagram
Instagram conducted multiple focus groups, online surveys and diary studies over a number of years
In 2021, it conducted large-scale research of tens of thousands of people that paired user responses with its own data about time spent on Instagram and what was viewed
In response to the WSJ report, Instagram published a lengthy blog defending its research.
The WSJ story focused “on a limited set of findings and casts them in a negative light”, it said, but the issue was far more complex.
“We’ve done extensive work around bullying, suicide and self-injury, and eating disorders, to help make Instagram a safe and supportive place for everyone,” the company said in its post.
“Based on our research and feedback from experts, we’ve developed features so people can protect themselves from bullying, we’ve given everyone the option to hide ‘like’ counts and we’ve continued to connect people who may be struggling with local support organisations.”
It was working on prompts to encourage people repeatedly dwelling on negative subjects to look at different topics, it said.
And it promised to be more transparent about its research in future.
But National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children head of child safety online Andy Burrows said it was “appalling they chose to sit on their hands rather than act on evidence”.
“Instead of working to make the site safe, they’ve obstructed researchers, regulators, and government and run a PR [public-relations] and lobbying campaign in an attempt to prove the opposite.”
MP Damian Collins, who is chairing the UK parliamentary committee looking at how big technology should be regulated to protect users’ safety, said it was time to “hold them to account”.
“The Wall Street Journal Facebook files investigation has exposed how the company, time and again, puts profit before harm,” he said.
“Its own research is telling it that a large number of teen Instagram users say the service makes them feel worse about themselves – but the company just wants to make sure they keep coming back.”
The Online Safety Bill aims to give regulator Ofcom the power to fine companies that fail to act on content that could cause harm.
Source- BBC
