Senators listened to the company, and the WSJ responded with more inside information.
The scandal surrounding Instagram and the influence of the social network on teenagers continues to be complicated for the company. Representatives of the company were heard in a committee of the US Senate, and meanwhile the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published more inside information from Facebook surveys.
The company was sharply criticized by senators. “Facebook has once again shown that it is incapable of self-regulation. We know that it chooses the growth of its business over the well-being of our children,” said Senator Richard Blumenthal.
Facebook responded that it did not agree with the allegations and allegations published by the WSJ, which were based only on selected data from internal investigations and not on the overall picture. The company reiterated that research also found a positive impact on young people. It also publishes new documents to prove this.
During this time, WSJ published even more internal documents that show additional information about the problems that Facebook has not solved. Among the statistics is that an average of one in five teenagers says that Instagram makes them have a worse opinion of themselves. A common criticism from 2503 people surveyed is that photos and filters create a “negative social comparison.”
The documents say that the social comparison in question is poorly expressed on Instagram. The photos are perceived as representative of real life, create wrong standards and expectations. An example is the “no filter” challenge, in which filter photos are often added.
Recommendations have also been made to correct the problems. Among them is the promotion of better and healthier practices for photos and sharing and more. It is not clear which and whether measures have been taken by Facebook. The company told NBC that it is constantly working to improve the Instagram environment and that a version of the app for children is being developed that will have more protections. Other measures are being prepared, including the opportunity for users to pause their account and take a break from the social network.
