In a recent case, the family of a 10-year-old girl alleges that Facebook’s Instagram app caused her to have an eating disorder, self-harm and suicidal thoughts.
NBC News reported this week that a family lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California accusing Facebook (now known as Meta) and the Instagram platform of causing eating disorders, self- suffering and suicidal thoughts in their children. .
Mark Zuckerberg discusses Instagram (AFP/Getty)
(Antonio Guillem /iStock /Getty Images Plus)
The lawsuit cites Facebook documents that leaked internal research papers showing that the company knew Instagram had a negative impact on body image and mental health issues among teens, especially girls.
Wall Street Magazine reported:
“Thirty-two percent of teenage girls said that when they feel bad about their bodies, Instagram makes them feel worse,” the researchers said in a March 2020 slide presentation on an internal Facebook message board facing The Wall Street Journal. “Comparisons on Instagram can change how young women see and describe themselves.”
Fire
“We make body image problems worse for one in three teenage girls,” said a 2019 slide outlining research on teenage girls who face such problems.
“Teens are blaming Instagram for their increased levels of anxiety and depression,” she says in another slide. “This reaction was spontaneous and consistent across all groups.”
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Alexis Spence, who first created her Instagram account at the age of 11 without parental consent, violating the platform’s minimum age of 13. The lawsuit said the Instagram algorithm posted to Spence in an echo chamber that glorified anorexia, and she self-harmed and contributed to her addiction.
The lawsuit was filed by the Social Media Victims Legal Center, a Seattle-based advocacy group for families of teens affected by social media. Spence, now 19, has previously been hospitalized for depression, anxiety, and anorexia, and is “fighting to get better every day” as a result of the harmful content and features that Instagram continues to promote, and this provides himself in efforts to increase engagement. . “”, said the lawsuit.
Matthew P. Bergman, representing Spence and his family, said, “If you look at the extensive research, [Meta] they knew exactly what they were doing with the kids and they moved on. I would like to say that Alexis’ condition is not normal. Not. The only difference was that he survived.
Bergman also represents Tammy Rodriguez of Enfield, Connecticut, who in January sued Facebook (now Meta) and Snap for allegedly contributing to the suicide of her 11-year-old son last year with companies.
Read more about NBC News here.
Source: Breitbart
