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Facebook under fire over secret teen research

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Facebook under fire over secret teen research

#11

Post by titzer »

notyourwork wrote: post #3

Does anyone remember Cosmopolitan and other like magazines. Teenage body issues and associated anxiety are not new. What has happened is we gave everyone internet access so now they can look at pictures of unrealistic bodies all day everywhere they go. The result is body dysmorphia on steroids.

> What has happened is we gave everyone internet access so now they can look at pictures of unrealistic bodies all day everywhere they go.

Not just that. The entire model is to chase you down, pester you with it, and shove products into your face. Which products? Whoever bids the most!

Re: Facebook under fire over secret teen research

#12

Post by bayindirh »

standardUser wrote: post #7
notyourwork wrote: post #3

Does anyone remember Cosmopolitan and other like magazines. Teenage body issues and associated anxiety are not new. What has happened is we gave everyone internet access so now they can look at pictures of unrealistic bodies all day everywhere they go. The result is body dysmorphia on steroids.

I truly don't understands this perspective. It used to be that mass media was a tightly-controlled, walled-off garden. The set number of popular and accessible magazines, tv stations and films suffered from far more centralized control, had far less inclusion in its leadership and staff, and resulted in a hyper-narrow range of acceptable beauty and image standards. It was borderline dystopian. Young people, by and la…

Maybe this body negativity came from inaccessible people, who were famous/connected enough to be on these pages.

Now, everyone can do it, and many are around you, accessible. They are your friend's friends or your friends.

Moreover, mobile applications and web applications allows you to touch up your appearance. You look and say "I'd be so much beautiful/handsome this way, but I'm not, and never will be".

Self criticism inflicts the greatest damage since there's no restraint, no barrier to dampen down to its effects. It's very destructive.

Re: Facebook under fire over secret teen research

#13

Post by mc32 »

1vuio0pswjnm7 wrote: post #10

This is more interesting (Instagram response to WSJ, linked to in the article): https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/using-researc... "We're increasingly focused on addressing negative social comparison and negative body image. One idea we think has promise is finding opportunities to jump in if we see people dwelling on certain types of content." "From our research, we're starting to understand the types o…

Yeah. As if it's not obvious "engagement" and "influencers" aren't the real problem, no instead, it's "huh, some people actually fall for the ads (body image)".

Stop promoting trash and see the problem go away --but so will their main cash cow. That might color their decision-making a bit.

Re: Facebook under fire over secret teen research

#14

Post by edoceo »

dhimes wrote: post #4
notyourwork wrote: post #3

Does anyone remember Cosmopolitan and other like magazines. Teenage body issues and associated anxiety are not new. What has happened is we gave everyone internet access so now they can look at pictures of unrealistic bodies all day everywhere they go. The result is body dysmorphia on steroids.

Young men are vulnerable to this, too. In fact, it's not unreasonable to think that it doesn't do any good for older men and women, either.

Setting unrealistic expectations and then failing to meet them is bad-feels for all brains.

Re: Facebook under fire over secret teen research

#15

Post by fidesomnes »

huntermeyer wrote: post #9

We may have to come together as a society and deem these social media apps as being a harm to society, especially the youth. Perhaps even age restrict them like alcohol, gambling, etc.

yes. ban them all. it is the only way to think of the children.

Re: Facebook under fire over secret teen research

#16

Post by mc32 »

standardUser wrote: post #7
notyourwork wrote: post #3

Does anyone remember Cosmopolitan and other like magazines. Teenage body issues and associated anxiety are not new. What has happened is we gave everyone internet access so now they can look at pictures of unrealistic bodies all day everywhere they go. The result is body dysmorphia on steroids.

I truly don't understands this perspective. It used to be that mass media was a tightly-controlled, walled-off garden. The set number of popular and accessible magazines, tv stations and films suffered from far more centralized control, had far less inclusion in its leadership and staff, and resulted in a hyper-narrow range of acceptable beauty and image standards. It was borderline dystopian. Young people, by and la…

I think the problem is people think there isn't an attractive main stream that people look to regardless of microculture (see Kaitlin Jenner for example as someone who finds themselves an outsider within a small community). But even if that were not the case, being anti-X is also a problem in itself as you are defining yourself against X.

Wanting to be "popular" has its problems but wanting to be "anti-popular" is also a problem because in the end it's not yourself. Being the not-popular also has it's own mainstream so it will have the same popular and anti-popular dynamic. So the only ones benefiting are the company and aware "influencers".

Re: Facebook under fire over secret teen research

#18

Post by FpUser »

mc32 wrote: post #5
notyourwork wrote: post #3

Does anyone remember Cosmopolitan and other like magazines. Teenage body issues and associated anxiety are not new. What has happened is we gave everyone internet access so now they can look at pictures of unrealistic bodies all day everywhere they go. The result is body dysmorphia on steroids.

It's true, but how many girls bought/could afford Cosmo, Elle, etc. subs? I suspect it wasn't as many as have Insta/Fb accounts --which is world-wide and reaches into every class and society. And given we now know it's severely detrimental to their well-being, I think it deserves serious consideration and requires change. I don't mean to censor people, but we must stop fomenting the image problem on purpose via progr…

>"Facebook knows it's a problem and they should tackle it"

Preface: Not a lover of Facebook and "social media" in general and do not use it as such.

However having FB "tackle / promote" way of life I think is totally wrong. It is up to the parents and schools to tech kids that there are more interesting things in the world than this mental masturbation on computer / phone screen watching somebody else's life.

Re: Facebook under fire over secret teen research

#19

Post by Tarsul »

1vuio0pswjnm7 wrote: post #10

This is more interesting (Instagram response to WSJ, linked to in the article): https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/using-researc... "We're increasingly focused on addressing negative social comparison and negative body image. One idea we think has promise is finding opportunities to jump in if we see people dwelling on certain types of content." "From our research, we're starting to understand the types o…

I'd like to think that by "jumping in" they mean that they change what kind of content the algorithms shows their users... however, I'd guess that no such self-regulation could ever suffice (esp. because it would always be less important than ad money in internal metrics).
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