Many studies conducted during the last 10 years have shown the relationship between the use of social networks by adolescents and deteriorating mental health of themselves .
A report from 1200 conducted by the Royal Society for Public Health in the UK highlighted “that social media use and depression in young people, with studies showing that increased use is associated with significantly increased odds depression. ”
, who analyzed one hundred and fifty adolescent girls, “concluded that there is a significant relationship between self-esteem and body image in adolescent girls who use Instagram.”
In September, the Wall Street Journal reported on a pair of leaked documents that were obtained by a former Facebook employee showing that their own investigation found a relationship Similary. The company documents stated: “ We worsen the body image problems of one in three adolescent girls “.
After these results were released, Facebook, now Meta, published a press release in which he attempted to turn the story around by stating that the results had been taken out of context and that their platforms actually have many benefits for their younger users.
Facebook claimed that the investigation had been misinterpreted and had been described as “sensationalist”. The company also criticized the report for not focusing on the positive effects that social media can have on teenagers .
Some of the critics point out that one of the solutions in the short term is to limit the time adolescents spend on social networks and help users to identify those photos that have been altered.
According to the company, some studies show that the behaviors of young people are related to the tendency to compare themselves with images that they see on social networks and the problem lies in the fact that many of them have been retouched and altered creating a standard of beauty that is impossible to achieve.
