WSJ: Facebook’s Internal Documents Show Company Knows Instagram Is Terrible for Teen Girls

According to a recent report from the Wall Street Journal, social media giant Facebook is aware that its Instagram photo-sharing platform can have a negative effect on the body image of young women. One of Instagram’s internal presentations admits: “We make body image issues worse for one in three teen girls.”

In a recent report titled “Facebook Knows Instagram Is Toxic for Teen Girls, Company Documents Show,” the Wall Street Journal claims that Facebook is aware that its photo-sharing app Instagram can have a negative effect on the body image of young women.

Facebook reportedly spoke to researchers within Instagram, which it owns, who were studying how users interacted on its platform and attempting to understand the types of universal experiences they shared. The researchers presented their findings to Facebook which concluded that a significant number of teen girls that use the Instagram platform develop body image issues. Among the researchers’ findings are that Instagram makes body image issues worse and that teens blame the platform for an increase in anxiety and depression.