Facebook under fire over secret teen research
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Re: Facebook under fire over secret teen research
#2Related recent discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28523688
Re: Facebook under fire over secret teen research
#3Does 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.
Re: Facebook under fire over secret teen research
#4Does 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.
Re: Facebook under fire over secret teen research
#5Does 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 programming and advertising and social engagement.
Facebook knows it's a problem and they should tackle it (as well as any such legacy magazines and the fashion industry in general).
Re: Facebook under fire over secret teen research
#6Does 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.
As another example "fake news" isn't new either, e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_journalism
However, I'd suggest that the new challenge isn't simply scale and omnipresence but algorithmization - modern platforms can tune and target to the level of the individual. In the past, (dis)information had to be broadcast in a far more one-size-fits-most style, perhaps segmented by broad geographic or demographic groups at best.
Re: Facebook under fire over secret teen research
#7Does 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 large, could only view media that was part of this monoculture. They were already seeing it all everywhere they went. Now, with just a little looking, people can find an entire universe of body-positive media and communities that simply did not exist in the 80's and 90's. So while there may be more ways to transmit body negativity thanks to the internet, I'd argue there is not more body negativity because we had already maxed it out. It's just as bad as it had been for decades. The difference now is an alternative exists!
Re: Facebook under fire over secret teen research
#8Does 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 think the parasocial element of engagement on Twitter and Instagram have a big effect as well. A cover model in a magazine has an air of inaccessibility. She’s clearly an aspirational figure and held above “normal” people.
The way the influencer model works, though, they’re all focused on seeming accessible and relatable. It’s not just that this is a supermodel who is above us all, she’s trying to look like your hot friend. All the products she shills are stuff that’s supposed to make you look like her.
Re: Facebook under fire over secret teen research
#9We 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.
Re: Facebook under fire over secret teen research
#10This 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 of content some people feel may contribute to negative social comparison, and we're exploring ways to prompt them to look at different topics if they're repeatedly looking at this type of content."
Wow, talk about "Big Brother".
Facebook/Instagram monitors everything the user looks at, how many times and for how long, and now they will "jump in" and alert the user.
"We're watching you and we think you should look at something else."
Meanwhile the whole "business model" of Instgram/Facebook is online advertising.
Advertising, e.g., in print, is what created these "negative body image" problems in the first place!
As they say, in the world of computers, what is old is new again. Originality is rare.
Big Tech relies on the same tired, old consumerism ideas, except it operates over the internet.
The only thing "futuristic" is the surveillance. Its nothing less than incredible what young people today are tolerating. Are they studying the psychological affects of surveillance on young people.