Courtesy of BBC (Facebook and Instagram have been under scrutiny after anonymous surveys by UMass Lowell students reported mixed feelings on social media and its impact on mental health
Julian Viviescas
Connector Contributor
In previous weeks, The Wall Street Journal and Facebook have been in intense debate over whether or not Instagram is “toxic.” A group of UMass Lowell students gave their thoughts on the effects the platform has had over their mental health.
26 students participated in a survey about their experience with Instagram and its correlation to their mental health. While 65 percent said they experienced negative social comparison after using the platform, 56 percent also said the experience can be positive at times.
“It’s a mixture of positive and negative experiences for sure,” said one student, anonymously. “I find myself comparing myself to others, but then I also find content that makes me laugh. I never really know what I’m going to see or feel when I open the app.”
On Oct. 5, former Facebook Product Management and whistleblower Frances Haughen, spoke before Congress after revealing internal research last month which contained memos and other documents that disclose information and conversations about teens’ mental health, political discourse and human trafficking across Facebook’s products.
According to one of Facebook’s slideshow highlighted by The Wall Street Journal in their series “The Facebook Files” in collaboration with Haughen, “thirty-two percent of teen girls said that when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse.” The slideshow also emphasized that “66% of girls on IG experience negative social comparison (compared to 40% of teen boys).”
On average, 48 percent of those surveyed said that they spend between one to two hours a day on the platform, and 100 percent said that they are aware that using it can be harmful to their mental health.
“Facebook knows that its amplification algorithms, things like engagement-based ranking on Instagram, can lead children from very innocuous topics like healthy recipes to anorexia over a very short period of time,” said Haughen after being asked if Facebook knew the platforms had negative effects on teens’ mental health.
When asked if they want to spend less time on Instagram, but lack the self-control to do so, 44 percent answered yes while 22 percent said no. “I recently stopped using Instagram due to mental health concerns,” shared one of the students, who preferred to stay anonymous.
While The Wall Street Journal emphasized that a pressure to look perfect and an addictive product like Instagram can send teens “spiraling” into eating disorders, the survey conducted with UMass Lowell students does not give evidence of such. The survey suggests that 81 percent of UMass Lowell students, on average, do make their dietary decisions based on posts they see on Instagram. Only two students affirmed that their dietary decisions based on the platform have been positive.
Allegedly, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, resisted any changes because he worried that people would engage less. “The buck stops with Mark,” said Haughen, who argues that the CEO holds more than half of all voting shares for Facebook, giving him control over major decisions.
“Facebook knows exactly what they are doing. We might be hopeless to stop them,” commented a student about the platform.
A statement released by Facebook on Sept. 26, a few weeks after the first edition of “The Facebook Files” was released, said “The Journal article implied that we were hiding this research and that the results are surprising, but that is simply not accurate.” The company provided Congress with two of their internal research decks that they claim, “were the primary focus of the Wall Street Journal’s mischaracterization.”
“These documents were also created for and used by people who understood the limitations of the research, which is why they occasionally used shorthand language,” explaining why they were investing in this research, but not releasing it to the public. They said, “we’ve made these investments, we’ve been able to set up a specific effort to work on these issues to minimize the bad and maximize the good.”
So far, the platform has made a few changes including an option to hide the like counts from posts, showing an “I am not interested” option on the explore page, introducing resources for those struggling with body image issues and a report option for posts related to eating disorders.
UMass Lowell is also making an effort to combat mental health issues that stem from social media. Students use social media daily, and these platforms are here to stay. The survey suggested that students do struggle with social comparison, and that Instagram has made 62 percent feel down, sad or depressed. The Wellness Center at UCrossing currently offers counseling services, crisis services and has a program called “UMatter2” which provides resources while encouraging self-care for all students.
