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At this point, it is not surprising that social media platforms such as Facebook can have negative effects on society. For years, journalists, politicians, social scientists — and even biologists and environmentalists — have been raising concerns about the impact of Facebook on our collective well-being. And Facebook has always defended itself, insisting that it is a pure benefit to society because of how it unites people.
But a new series of reports from the Wall Street Journal, Files on Facebook, provides compelling evidence that Facebook has researched and long known that its products cause measurable damage in the real world — including teen mental health — and then suppress this research, while denying and downplaying this harm to the public. The revelations, which only reinforce the case that a growing chorus of lawmakers and regulators are making to break up Facebook or otherwise severely limit its power as a social media giant, could be a turning point for the company.
The newspaper’s report has already had implications for Facebook: a bipartisan Senate committee is investigating the impact of Instagram on teens, and a group of lawmakers led by Sen. Ed Markie (D-MA) is urging Facebook to stop all development of its Instagram for Baby Product for Kids Under 13 years, which BuzzFeed News first revealed that the company is growing in March.
“We are contacting a Facebook whistleblower and will use all the resources at our disposal to investigate what Facebook knew and when they knew it – including looking for additional documents and seeking witness testimony,” the joint statement said. of meaning. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on Tuesday. The Wall Street Journal blockbuster can only be the tip of the iceberg.
It is unclear to what extent these efforts will affect Facebook’s political decisions and the end result. Investigations are at an early stage and it is too early to say whether this will lead directly to any new laws or other regulation.
The head of Instagram’s public policy wrote in the company’s blog on Tuesday that the magazine’s reports “focus on a limited set of findings and throw them in a negative light”, and that the fact that Instagram has done internal research on the issue demonstrates its ” a commitment to understanding the complex and difficult issues that young people may face. ”
In the long run, the consequences for Facebook are less immediately measurable, but perhaps more devastating. These findings for the company have further damaged the little trust it has left in politicians – who have long asked Facebook for specific information about the platform’s effect on mental health. The company refused to provide it, although in many cases it had all the answers.
Take, for example, the front and back between Mark Zuckerberg and Kathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) at a March 2021 congressional social media hearing.
Senator Rodgers: Do you agree that too much time in front of screens, passively consuming content, is harmful to children’s mental health?
Mark Zuckerberg: Congressman, the research I’ve seen on this shows that if people use computers and social –
Senator Rodgers: Could you answer yes or no? I’m sorry. Can you use yes or no?
Mark Zuckerberg. I do not think that the study is definitive in this regard. But I can summarize what I have learned, if it is useful.
Zuckerberg continued, “Overall, the research we’ve seen is that using social apps to connect with other people can have positive benefits for mental health and well-being by helping people feel more connected and less lonely.” .
He doesn’t mention any of the negative effects his own team has found on Instagram over the past three years, including that in their own study of teens, 32% of teenage girls say that when they feel bad about their bodies, Instagram has made them I feel worse.
When Senator Rodgers and other Republicans approached Facebook and asked about the company’s internal research on the effects of its products on mental health, the company did not share the results of the Instagram research, according to Bloomberg, nor did it share it with Sen. Ed Markie when his office also asked Facebook to provide any internal research on the issue in April, according to letters provided by Markie’s office to Recode.
“It’s such a profound issue for children and teens,” said Jim Steyr, CEO and founder of the nonprofit Common Sense Media, which advocates studying the effects of technology on children and teens. “The fact that Facebook knew the survey, did it and then hid it … it’s pretty amazing,” he told Recode.
Other disgusting findings from the Journal’s report include the discovery that the company has a VIP program that allows celebrities and politicians to break its rules, and that in 2018 Facebook improved its algorithm in a way that encouraged people to share more angry content. . In any case, Facebook’s own employees found systematic evidence of serious problems, but when they warned executives – including Mark Zuckerberg – about it, they were largely ignored.
For years, Facebook’s main defense against criticism of any negative effects that its products may cause is that social media, like other technological innovations, can cause some harm – but that good outweighs bad.
In a recent interview with my colleague Peter Kafka on the subject Recode the media podcast, Instagram leader Adam Moseri pointed out the way social media has helped social justice movements like Black Lives Matter and Me Too. And he compares Facebook to the invention of the car.
“Cars have positive or negative results. We understand it. We know that more people are dying than would otherwise be due to car accidents, “Moseri said. “But in general, cars create more value in the world than they have destroyed. And I think social media is similar. “
There is no doubt that social media can facilitate social change. It can also be a useful way for people to keep in touch with friends and family – and indeed, as Zuckerberg told Congress, it can help people feel less lonely.
But at some point the question is whether the public will accept this justification as an excuse for the company to have the freedom to experiment on our collective well-being, measure that harm and keep the public unaware of what they are learning as they continue to make record profits. nearly $ 30 billion a quarter.
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