Instagram is a platform where people share sections from their private lives and produce some entertaining content. Recently, especially after Reels videos have been added, it has become an application that is the second stop of TikTok users. However, the impact of the app on teenagers is greater than most of us can imagine.
At the beginning of the year, some Facebook documents about Instagram were leaked. There was some information in the data that Instagram is badly affecting young people, especially young girls. The revelation of this information has pushed the company into fear of losing the youth, who make up the majority of its audience. Now the head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, is being summoned to parliament to testify.
Investigating the influence of Instagram on children
Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen leaked some documents to The Wall Street Journal earlier this year. In those documents, Facebook mentioned that some teenage girls have bad feelings about their looks when using Instagram.
After the disclosure of these data, the Senate deputies examined the contents of the application. They explored what ill effects other social media platforms, such as Instagram, could have on teens. After a period of investigation, Instagram head Adam Mosseri is being summoned to testify before Congress next month.
The Senate Commerce Committee’s consumer protection subcommittee held its first judicial hearing on the issue in September with Facebook’s head of global security, Antigone Davis. At the hearing, Davis opposed the news shared by the Journal newspaper, which wrote that young people are badly affected by Instagram. Senator Richard Blumenthal summoned Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify before the committee, following Davis’ testimony.
Blumenthal forwarded the letter to Mosseri after Zuckerberg. In his letter, he mentioned that US citizens, and especially parents, were displeased by the news that was released because of the facts Facebook knew about Instagram. He said parents and 20 million teenagers using the app have a right to know if Instagram is trustworthy.
Social media sanctions of the Senate Commerce Committee
After recent reports, Senator Blumenthal promised to approve child safety regulations for online apps. Accordingly, the committee began enacting laws requiring platforms targeting children under the age of 16 to change their design and content by setting new limits.
After all this, another senator, Josh Hawley, introduced a bill. Under this law, parents can sue for practices that cause mental or physical harm to children. This step seems to cause many social media platforms to impose new sanctions and limitations.
What do you think about the documents that emerged about Instagram? Do social media apps affect children badly? You can share your thoughts with us in the comments.
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