Facebook has published two slide decks about its research into how Instagram impacts teens’ mental health, Engadget reports.
The slides show how Facebook looks into its own product. There are some notes about research into Instagram and how the research might not be accurate.
- For example, one slide has a note about how “one in five teens say that Instagram makes them feel worse about themselves, with UK girls the most negative,” according to Engadget.
- But, the slide has an additional note that read, “This research was not intended to (and does not) evaluate causal claims between Instagram and health or well-being.”
- In fact, that last line is used throughout the slides, per Engadget.
- And the research offers a look into what content is accepted and appreciated by teens, too.
Two weeks back, The Wall Street Journal did a deep dive into the slides, revealing that Facebook and Instagram internal researchers know that Instagram can be a toxic app for teen girls.
Per The Wall Street Journal, the slides revealed that Instagram makes teens feel bad about their bodies and creates anxiety.
- “Teens blame Instagram for increases in the rate of anxiety and depression,” said another slide, according to WSJ. “This reaction was unprompted and consistent across all groups.”
Just days ago, Facebook announced it would pause the development of Instagram Kids, a kids-only version of the app. The move seemed to be in response to the WSJ report.
Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, said in a blog post that Facebook started the platform “to address an important problem seen across our industry: kids are getting phones younger and younger, misrepresenting their age, and downloading apps that are meant for those 13 or older.”
- But the company wants to pause development to “give us time to work with parents, experts, policymakers and regulators, to listen to their concerns, and to demonstrate the value and importance of this project for younger teens online today,” Mosseri wrote.