Source: https://quillette.com/2021/10/04/ins...mental-health/
Instagram's Mental Health Emergency
Claire Lehmann
04 Oct 2021
Facebook has recently paused the development of their “Instagram Kids” project after a whistleblower leaked internal documents showing that Facebook's own research finds a link between poor mental health and Instagram use. “We make body image issues worse for one in three teen girls,” said a slide in a presentation given to Facebook executives, “Teens blame Instagram for increases in the rate of anxiety and depression,” said another. Not surprisingly, the Wall Street Journal’s expose has led to a bipartisan backlash against Facebook, with law-makers, child advocates, psychologists, and users themselves describing the harmful effects of social media as the “public health issue of our time.”
For years psychologists have been warning the public that social media, and Instagram in particular, were contributing to large increases in depression and anxiety in teenagers, especially girls. Jean Twenge, psychology professor at San Diego State University whose research looks at generational trends found in very large data sets, described in her 2017 book, iGen, sharp decreases in behaviours that prepare young people for adulthood such as driving, dating, socialising at parties, and working...
Instagram's Mental Health Emergency
Claire Lehmann
04 Oct 2021
Facebook has recently paused the development of their “Instagram Kids” project after a whistleblower leaked internal documents showing that Facebook's own research finds a link between poor mental health and Instagram use. “We make body image issues worse for one in three teen girls,” said a slide in a presentation given to Facebook executives, “Teens blame Instagram for increases in the rate of anxiety and depression,” said another. Not surprisingly, the Wall Street Journal’s expose has led to a bipartisan backlash against Facebook, with law-makers, child advocates, psychologists, and users themselves describing the harmful effects of social media as the “public health issue of our time.”
For years psychologists have been warning the public that social media, and Instagram in particular, were contributing to large increases in depression and anxiety in teenagers, especially girls. Jean Twenge, psychology professor at San Diego State University whose research looks at generational trends found in very large data sets, described in her 2017 book, iGen, sharp decreases in behaviours that prepare young people for adulthood such as driving, dating, socialising at parties, and working...
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