Facebook on Wednesday night released two controversial research studies regarding Instagram and the health of teens in the hours before when a company executive is scheduled to answer Congressional concerns about the topic.
Two reports totaled nearly 100 slides. Two reports comprised of more than 100 slides were created in 2019 and were designed to learn more about how users interact with the app and its effects on factors such as anxiety, body image, etc., and social competition. The findings were first announced earlier this week in the Wall Street Journal investigation, prompting new criticisms of Facebook’s treatment with its customers. The study has put Facebook in a defensive position in the past. It has been able to aggressively try to respond to this Journal‘s article by taking the unusual step of publishing numerous long responses. The company made no effort to listen to any criticism except to delay plans to create a children’s model of Instagram.
Facebook has extensively annotated all of the reports, attempting to provide clarity to the information and make them sound more logical. The company repeatedly called attention to the tiny size of the sample and the application of the data within Facebook. Senior executives would consider them together with other aspects before making decisions. In several instances, the language used in annotations directly criticizes the language used in the report’s original text to dispel the controversy about the findings of the study. For example, the annotation said that the methodology’s underlying theory was not “fit to provide statistical estimates.”
However, the study broadens the view presented in Journal Journal‘s article. This Journalpiece was primarily based on one significant blockbuster discovery. About a third of teens believe that Instagram can cause body issues to become more severe. But there’s more to that number, however. The Facebook study reveals that Instagram causes more difficulties for struggling teens. 20percent of teenagers claim that Instagram causes them to feel less confident about themselves. Teens of all ages were not immune to Instagram’s negative influence as did their female counterparts: About 15percent of males reported that it caused anxiety. Around 14% of them said it contributed to sleep problems.
Facebook has shared its research with Congress, and it’s likely to be a significant topic of discussion during the Thursday Senate hearing. Facebook has sent Antigone Davis, its chief of safety for the world, who will be heading on Capitol Hill to face down increasing demands in Congress for more regulation of Facebook.
