Facebook researchers reportedly found Instagram is 'harmful' for a 'sizable percentage' of young users


Leaked documents suggest Facebook is aware that Instagram is harmful for many young users, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal.
The Journal reported Monday that Facebook has in recent years conducted studies into the way the photo sharing app Instagram affects young users, and researchers "found that Instagram is harmful for a sizable percentage of them, most notably teenage girls." The report cites a 2019 internal slide summarizing the research, which states, "We make body image issues worse for one in three teen girls."
Another slide reportedly said that "teens blame Instagram for increases in the rate of anxiety and depression," and a presentation laid out how research found 13 percent of British users and six percent of American users who experienced suicidal thoughts said they traced these thoughts to Instagram. The researchers reportedly concluded that some of these issues are specific to Instagram because "social comparison is worse" on the platform. The Journal published another major Facebook story on Monday indicating that the platform has a "secret elite" of users who are routinely allowed to violate its policies without consequences.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In an interview with the Journal, Instagram head Adam Mosseri suggested the "issues mentioned in this story aren't necessarily widespread" but that the "impact on people may be huge." He added that the leaked research "isn't dirty laundry" and that "I'm actually very proud" of it. Facebook has previously faced criticism after revealing plans to launch a version of Instagram for kids.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who previously called on Facebook to release its research on the effect of its products on young people, argued the company is "taking a page from the textbook of Big Tobacco — targeting teens with potentially dangerous products while masking the science in public." Read more at The Wall Street Journal.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Interest rate cut: the winners and losers
The Explainer The Bank of England's rate cut is not good news for everyone
-
Quiz of The Week: 3 – 9 May
Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
-
The Week Unwrapped: Will robots benefit from a sense of touch?
Podcast Plus, has Donald Trump given centrism a new lease of life? And was it wrong to release the deadly film Rust?
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measles
Speed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths
-
Shingles vaccine cuts dementia risk, study finds
Speed Read Getting vaccinated appears to significantly reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia
-
Measles outbreak spreads, as does RFK Jr.'s influence
Speed Read The outbreak centered in Texas has grown to at least three states and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is promoting unproven treatments
-
RFK Jr. offers alternative remedies as measles spreads
Speed Read Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes unsupported claims about containing the spread as vaccine skepticism grows
-
Texas outbreak brings 1st US measles death since 2015
Speed read The outbreak is concentrated in a 'close-knit, undervaccinated' Mennonite community in rural Gaines County
-
Mystery illness spreading in Congo rapidly kills dozens
Speed Read The World Health Organization said 53 people have died in an outbreak that originated in a village where three children ate a bat carcass
-
Ozempic can curb alcohol cravings, study finds
Speed read Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy may also be helpful in limiting alcohol consumption
-
New form of H5N1 bird flu found in US dairy cows
Speed Read This new form of bird flu is different from the version that spread through herds in the last year