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Facebook knows Instagram is toxic for teen girls, company documents show

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Re: Facebook knows Instagram is toxic for teen girls, company documents show

#291

Post by foolinaround »

TheOtherHobbes wrote: post #115
raman162 wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree that we need to hold ourselves responsible for our actions. If it's not going to be facebook capitalizing on our behavior, it will be some other company. From the article it seems that most teens are aware that they have an unhealthy relationship with instagram. Tackling this issue in a sustainable way is something I believe most teens are capable of this with the right guidance.

If we should hold ourselves responsible, so should companies. Tackling this issue in a sustainable way is something I believe most companies are capable of with the right guidance.

> If we should hold ourselves responsible, so should companies.

Why "should" FB do so? It is doing the "right thing" for its stake holders. Of course, Ideally they should, but realistically not going to happen.

It is us who need to protect our families because we are incentivized to do so. We have failed in protecting our own interests.

It is no different from the drug dealers in our town, we warn our children of the dangers, take steps within our means to reduce our children's interactions, etc.

Re: Facebook knows Instagram is toxic for teen girls, company documents show

#292

Post by [deleted] »

andreime wrote: post #106
blakesterz wrote: post #2

https://archive.is/egPlc “The research that we’ve seen is that using social apps to connect with other people can have positive mental-health benefits,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said at a congressional hearing... “We make body image issues worse for one in three teen girls,” said one slide from 2019, summarizing research about teen girls who experience the issues. “Teens blame Instagram for increases in the rate of anxiet…

I'm not defending Facebook and I just had some thoughts reading the quotes and am curious what you think of them. 1. I remember that while growing up fashion magazines, actors/actresses and I want to say peer pressure (but am fearful its incorrect) were a big source of body image issues. 2. Maybe it's a side effect of our society or "normal" to have security issues while growing up. We've been having good childhoods…

[deleted]

Re: Facebook knows Instagram is toxic for teen girls, company documents show

#293

Post by 9dev »

imgabe wrote: post #195
everdrive wrote: post #117

Facebook is an accelerant. The movie "Mean Girls" largely predated social media and highlighted many of the same issues. This seems to be a pretty ingrained issue, although I think most people agree that Facebook makes it worse. Here's a theory that's nearly guaranteed to land me in hot water: Why are young girls so awful to each other? I don't think it's unreasonable to suspect that is has to do with "hormones," new…

Let’s suppose you’re correct: teen girls are evolutionarily predisposed to be especially cutthroat. Does this make it acceptable that a corporation like Facebook exploits this tendency for profit? Should we not recognize this vulnerability and protect our children against it?

I don’t think OP ever suggested this was acceptable? Can’t we discuss multiple facets of a piece of news individually, without everyone always having to condemn or support the overall premise of the article? I think the topic of young girls being predisposed to being mean is worth discussing on its own, no matter my opinion on it.

Re: Facebook knows Instagram is toxic for teen girls, company documents show

#294

Post by smithza »

joelbluminator wrote: post #14

Is it Facebook / Instagram's fault or us as a culture? As a culture we adore beauty, wealth, power...Facebook seems to be just a platform where our natural desires can have a play. Facebook hasn't created this impossible beauty ideal, it was created long long ago by Hollywood and the fashion industry. Facebook just makes it super easy for people to become obsessed with something by "connecting" with it. It used to be…

It would be VERY different if Facebook was not a free, ad-driven service where their sole optimization is engagement. If Facebook was a subscription service where users had 'timelines' (remember that Facebook era?), we would not be seeing the psychological phenomenon we see to this magnitude. Same for Twitter, Insta, TikTok, etc.

Re: Facebook knows Instagram is toxic for teen girls, company documents show

#295

Post by hamzakc »

patwolf wrote: post #271

It really blows my mind that there isn't a larger pushback against social media. I do see it here on HN occasionally, but I rarely encounter anyone in the real world that has a strong anti-social media stance. Even then, it tends to be more of an anti-facebook-as-a-company stance. There are outspoken groups for just about every real or perceived social ill, but I don't see it for social media. Maybe it is there, and…

I totally agree with you. I am constantly asked by my two boys (11, 14) for a smart phone. In our mind they don't need one at this age. The issue is that everyone seems to have one in the school. When I pick them up I see it for myself.

I don't understand why the school does not just ban them and discourage usage.

If we want to change the use of social media in teenagers and younger, we as parents have a responsibility to control access to these kind of sites and the internet in general.

Re: Facebook knows Instagram is toxic for teen girls, company documents show

#296

Post by pfortuny »

blakesterz wrote: post #2

https://archive.is/egPlc “The research that we’ve seen is that using social apps to connect with other people can have positive mental-health benefits,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said at a congressional hearing... “We make body image issues worse for one in three teen girls,” said one slide from 2019, summarizing research about teen girls who experience the issues. “Teens blame Instagram for increases in the rate of anxiet…

"Using social apps to connect with other people can have positive mental-health benefits"

That statement cannot be false because it is devoid of any content, being a mere hypothetical. The fact that it is surrounded by "research" is meaningless as well, as the aforementioned sentence is like saying "the elements of the empty set fulfil all properties"...

So no, they are not contradicting themselves. They are simply and wantonly misleading people.

Re: Facebook knows Instagram is toxic for teen girls, company documents show

#297

Post by zepto »

remarkEon wrote: post #284
zepto wrote: post #270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Young girls are mean to each other, that’s a fact. In all societies across time? Or just in American High schools and on Instagram?

Lemme get Yale on the phone, or better yet Oxford. Maybe they can provide us an answer to the question of “are young girls mean to each other, yes or no”.

How is this sarcastic answer helpful? As far as I can see you have provided no useful information.

If you don’t think universities are the right people to help with this question, who would you recommend to answer it?

You said: “Young girls are mean to each other, that’s a fact.”

How do you know this fact?

Re: Facebook knows Instagram is toxic for teen girls, company documents show

#298

Post by throwaway2037 »

aspaviento wrote: post #206
wussboy wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a personal grudge against anyone saying "Why don't the parents take some responsibility to combat a multi-billion dollar company who puts the resources of small countries in to making their children behave in detrimental ways." But I'll not get in to that. :) Facebook and Instagram are drug dealers. Sure, they're not physically distributing a substance, but the social interactions they provide are every bit as…

> I have a personal grudge against anyone saying (...) There is no need to have any grudge against me (I hope). I get it. I never said being a parent is an easy job. I acknowledge how hard it is but... > Facebook and Instagram are drug dealers If you teach your kids not to consume drugs, why Instagram should be any different?

In some respects, "Say No to Drugs" seems out of date when some very advanced democracies have already legalised some drugs or are close to it. That said, I understand your sentiment. No parent should be encouraging their children to become habitual cocaine users!

One thing that does some "obvious" for this generation of parents: Work hard to educate your children on the dangers of traditional cigarette smoking. That is a seriously terrible habit for your health and well-being. I feel much less so about vaping (e-cigarettes), as the health effects of nicotine addiction are still far lower than traditional cigarette smoke inhaled into the lungs.

Re: Facebook knows Instagram is toxic for teen girls, company documents show

#299

Post by hetspookjee »

aspaviento wrote: post #131
andreime wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not defending Facebook and I just had some thoughts reading the quotes and am curious what you think of them. 1. I remember that while growing up fashion magazines, actors/actresses and I want to say peer pressure (but am fearful its incorrect) were a big source of body image issues. 2. Maybe it's a side effect of our society or "normal" to have security issues while growing up. We've been having good childhoods…

The less I want is to defend Facebook but I think lately people don't want to acknowledge their own responsibilities. It's like every time there is a problem, the cause is someone/something else. I don't think Instagram is impossed to anyone. Young people can feel the pressure to use it because their friends use it but they aren't forced to do so. From the article it seems that young girls know about the toxicity in…

I don't get how you can end up in this line of thought? Can you ask these same questions about the abusers of opioids? Or Tobacco? Don't you have any bad habits you have difficulty shaking off? Genuinely surprised.

Re: Facebook knows Instagram is toxic for teen girls, company documents show

#300

Post by jimbokun »

afavour wrote: post #226
aspaviento wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I have a personal grudge against anyone saying (...) There is no need to have any grudge against me (I hope). I get it. I never said being a parent is an easy job. I acknowledge how hard it is but... > Facebook and Instagram are drug dealers If you teach your kids not to consume drugs, why Instagram should be any different?

> If you teach your kids not to consume drugs, why Instagram should be any different? Imagine if all the other kids at school used drugs on a daily basis, that there was advertising plastered everywhere telling you that drugs are cool, that successful people use drugs and that your worth in this world can be directly tied to successful use of drugs. I don't mean to sound mean here, but are you a parent? If not I susp…

> Imagine if all the other kids at school used drugs on a daily basis

In many high schools this isn't far off the truth.

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