CS blog post #3 - Kim Browne
The article I chose was facebook's suppression of its research on the negative effects on teenage girls. For years Facebook has been investigating the impact of Instagram on young teens, especially young girls. However, people became enraged because the company never shared the data publicly until 2021 (Bursztynsky et al., 2021). According to The Guardian, 32% of teen girls said Instagram made them feel worse about their bodies and blamed Instagram for their increased anxiety and depression (Gayle, 2021). The ideas within this article tie into Nancy Baym's theoretical perspective of the social shaping of technology as it considers the consequences of technologies from a mix of affordances. It sees technology and society as continually influencing each other (Baym, 2010, p.51)
This article shows how we have to look at the harmful features of Instagram that the creators choose to ignore instead of simply blaming our technological devices. The anxieties stem from the young girls comparing themselves aswell as self-esteem and body image issues. Along with this there is the external fear that no one truly understands how this toxic data works within our mobile devices. Baym claims that because digital media are so interactive between individuals, machines can accelerate specific trends and create social norms (Baym, 2010, p.51). Our use of technology has become so normalized that it should not be a big surprise that these Internet Giants are hiding the research that exposes mental health threats.
Gayle, D. (2021) Social media firm reportedly kept own research secret that suggest sapp worsens body
image issues. The Guardian
Burszyntynsky, J. & Feiner, L. (2021) Facebook documents show how toxic Instgram is for teens, Wall
Street journal reports. CNBC https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/14/facebook-documents-show-how-toxic-instagram-is-for-teens-wsj.html
Baym, N. (2010). “New Forms of Personal Connection”, “Making New Media Make Sense”
Hello!
ReplyDeleteI also believe that the platform of Instagram comes with numerous factors that can relate to the cause of stress and anxiety. As mentioned, body image has become a big factor when it comes to social media. I follow many influencers and celebrities and catch myself at times comparing myself or life to theres and I believe many can relate to this. With technology being so dominant in our lives, we have naturalized the issues that come with social media and the constant notion of comparing of ones life and self to others. Overall, great post!
Hey Kim great post!
ReplyDeleteBefore reading the article I had never heard of this issue which I think is a problem within itself. Just knowing that a company as big as Facebook was withholding information as detrimental as such raises many concerns. I can appreciate how you touched upon the idea that with algorithms, the posts that impressionable young girls for an example are viewing are amplified as the more often they view such posts, the more these kinds of posts will take over their feeds. In my post, I covered similar notions regarding the film "Eighth Grade" and how Kayla would feel insecurities and anxieties due to social media.
Hi Kim,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post and definitely agree with you that technology has become so implemented into our lives that large platforms are more concerned with their success and popularity rather than users' mental health and the ways in which their platforms are affecting people. Body image and appearance is now something that many people struggle with since they are now being constantly surrounded by edited photos and false perceptions of what a real person looks like.
Hi Kim,
ReplyDeleteGreat discussion post; I agree that we cannot ignore the creators of social media, whose posts they make negatively impact teenagers' mental health. The prevalence of unrealistic body standards and photoshop withholds immense effects on teenage girls' minds as they want to fit in with society's standards. Furthermore, the social shaping of technology relates to how technology and society constantly influence each other, which may not always be positive, as we can see that teenage girls suffer from anxiety, depression, and eating disorders. Social media creators should spread awareness of this issue and discuss that the celebrities they see have plastic surgery, botox, and photoshop to make them appear to fit in with society's beauty standards.
Hey Kim,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your post! I was not aware that facebook suppressed research on the negative effects for teenage girls. In todays society I feel like it is widely assumed that we all have a mutual understanding that a lot of what social media has to offer is toxic for us, but we choose to ignore it. I did not think major platforms like facebook would avoid the discussion completely. Platforms with such significant influence that have such a large user count should never ignore serious conversations about the warnings related to how poorly the media can affect you. On platforms such as Tik Tok, I have noticed that individual creators often put a trigger warning at the beginning of their videos or in the captions before they talk about anything that can be seen as sensitive content for viewers. The preparation for something that might be triggering for some people is very respectable and also helps people avoid seeing certain things that will harm them through social media. More of this should take place on every platform.
Hi Kim,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post. Amongst others, I was unaware that Facebook was gatekeeping such data. I, too, believe that these statistics are valid and helpful in regards to understanding where our issues lie. Additionally, I liked your position on the fact that these content creators should be spreading awareness about unrealistic expectations. While there is an extreme amount of content promoting "beauty standards", there is a huge lack in spreading awareness about appearing as our true, authentic selves. This, in turn, causes anxieties and social pressures amongst individuals.