Unpublished survey says Instagram increases anxiety
Teenagers blamed Instagram for increased levels of anxiety, according to an unpublished survey by Facebook and its Instagram. The Wall Street Journal reported that the survey has been kept secret by the companies as it showed negative results for Instagram. The company in a blog post commented that the newspaper “story focuses on a limited set of findings and casts them in a negative light.”
”We stand by this research. It demonstrates our commitment to understanding complex and difficult issues young people may struggle with and informs all the work we do to help those experiencing these issues”, wrote Karina Newton, Head of Public Policy, Instagram, in a blog post.
The Instagram blog post did not dispute the details in the newspaper story. According to the Wall Street Journal the survey shows:
- A 2019 presentation slide said: “We make body-image issues worse for one in three teenage girls”
- Another slide said teenagers blamed Instagram for increased levels of anxiety and depression
- In 2020, research found 32% of teenage girls surveyed said when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse
- Some 13% of UK teenagers and 6% of US users surveyed traced a desire to kill themselves to Instagram
- Instagram conducted multiple focus groups, online surveys and diary studies over a number of years
- In 2021, it conducted large-scale research of tens of thousands of people that paired user responses with its own data about time spent on Instagram and what was viewed.
Instagram in a blog post said that “the research on the effects of social media on people’s well-being is mixed, and our own research mirrors external research. Social media isn’t inherently good or bad for people. Many find it helpful one day, and problematic the next. What seems to matter most is how people use social media, and their state of mind when they use it.”
The company refers to actions taken against bullying, self-injury and eating disorders adding that: ”We also want to be more transparent about the research we do, both internally and in collaboration with external researchers. We’ll continue to look for opportunities to work with more partners to publish independent studies in this area, and we’re working through how we can allow external researchers more access to our data in a way that respects people’s privacy. We’ll have more to share on our research, and new features we’re building, soon.”
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