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Metareportedly screw thatInstagramwas promote harmful substance to teenager young woman but did nothing about it . The news comes more than a twelvemonth after a damningWorld Street Journalreport revealed that the company knewInstagram was detrimental to teens ' genial healthbut still seem the other way . There have been similar allegations in the yesteryear as well , with a report channel in 2017 by the Royal Society for Public Health in the U.K. denouncing Instagram as the worst societal platform for genial well - being .
According toCBS News , a leak inner document from 2021 let out that Meta , then known as Facebook , was aware that Instagram was bring out adolescent girls to inappropriate content . Meta reportedly became mindful of the problem last class when an Instagram employee posing as a 13 - twelvemonth - honest-to-goodness missy was directed to dangerous content pushing eating disorders after explore for dieting point . Some of the accounts that Instagram recommended include ' skinny binge ' and ' apple magnetic core anorexic , ' whichpushed eat disorderliness and other unhealthy content . Some Instagram employees also raised headache about internal enquiry that receive the platform made one - third of teen girls find anxiety about their bodies . Teens who used the app also reportedly felt more anxious and depressed than those who did not .
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Instagram Reportedly Ignored The Mental Health Of Teens
This is hardly the first clock time Instagram and its parent company , Meta , have come under the electronic scanner for putting profits over the genial well - being of its users . In 2017 , a study by Flinders University found that workout hashtags advertise by Instagram influencers made female users feel worse about their consistence rather than motivate them to get more primed and healthier . Another survey by the American Psychological Institution in 2019 highlighted adirect link between Instagram exercise pattern and depression , lowered self - esteem , anxiety about physical appearance , and body dissatisfaction complex .
With Instagram and other societal media platforms repeatedly failing to keep children dependable online despite the warnings , 1,200 families across the U.S. are suing them for allegedly choosing profits over children ’s safety . Matt Bergman , the attorney representing the families , founded the Social Media Victims Law Center last yr after whistleblower Frances Haugen , a former product managing director at Facebook , revealed how Facebook prioritized profits over the well - being of its users .
Bergman tell CBS'60 Minutesthat social media companies have"intentionally"designed an addictive merchandise without any headache for substance abuser well - being . Bergman said,“they interpret that if children stay online , they make more money . It does n’t matter how harmful the material is . “Aiming to make apps like Instagram safer , Bergman also call for better age and identity check protocols . Meta deny to address the allegations to CBS but saidthe company wants teens to be good onlineand does not allow capacity further self - harm or eat disorders onInstagram .
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Source : CBS News
