As reported by the Journal, the documents show that the company is fully aware that Instagram has deleterious effects on teens. A PowerPoint slide created by Facebook researchers in 2019, for example, states that Instagram makes body-image issues worse for one in three teen-age girls. Another research presentation, from March, 2020, which was published on Facebook’s internal message board and was viewed by the reporters, noted that “thirty-two percent of teen girls said that when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse.” Teens also told Facebook’s researchers that the app contributed to their depression and anxiety, a complaint that a company document from 2019 noted “was unprompted and consistent across all groups.” Young Instagram users also indicated that they felt addicted to the app and lacked the wherewithal to limit their use of it.
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Liked Instagram for Kids and What Facebook Knows About the Effects of Social Media by (The New Yorker)
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