Meta-owned Instagram will allow some researchers to access its data to study the potential impact of the platform on the mental health of teenagers and young adults. This could help assist independent studies on the topic and unveil the factors that contribute to the mental well-being of young people.
The Program
Meta is collaborating with the Center for Open Science (COS), a nonprofit, to open a small pilot program that will examine the relationship between social media usage and mental health. The program will allow access to Instagram data for a period of six months and could help produce several independent studies. The data given may include information like how many accounts a teen follows, the amount of time they use Instagram and when, their account settings and more. However, Meta will not provide access to information regarding a user’s demographic or reveal the contents of their posts, comments or messages. COS said that analyzing data directly from the app could “contribute to the understanding of well-being when combined with other sources of data. They have also outlined that the program will “enable rigorous, transparent, and ethical research.”
The program will choose up to 7 research proposals that focus on different topics relating to mental health. Once selected, the researchers will get access to the approved data. It was pointed out that the researchers will be responsible for recruiting the study participants, not Meta. Further, they will be required to get parental permission from the teen participants and take privacy precautions.
Curtiss Cobb, a vice president of research at Meta said that everyone including parents, policymakers, academics and technology companies are trying to find the best way to support young people as they navigate online platforms. He emphasized on the fact that “we need more data to understand the full picture.”
Previous Criticism
The tech giant has previously come under fire for the lack of access given to researchers for studies. Instagram’s effect on young minds came under the spotlight in 2021, when Frances Haugen, a whistleblower, exposed a set of confidential documents, including internal studies. She revealed that many teenagers blame their psychological struggles like anxiety and depression on Instagram. This prompted pressure on Meta to share its research more transparently.
Social Media and Mental Health
Conversations revolving around the negative impact of social media on mental health, particularly on younger people, are not new. With how widespread social media is, scrolling on these platforms for hours on end has become the norm for many across the globe. In 2023, the Pew Research Center revealed that 8 per cent of teens said that they use Instagram ‘almost constantly’. Various studies have linked excessive use of social media with increasing levels of anxiety, depression and other negative feelings.
A curse of social media is that users often can’t help but compare themselves to others, leading to a feeling of dissatisfaction with their own life, appearance and accomplishments. Spending hours on the phone, and mindlessly scrolling on social media can also lead to people becoming socially withdrawn in real life. However, every coin has a flip side, and one cannot deny the opportunities and benefits social media presents. Understanding the nuanced relationship between these platforms and mental health requires more data and investigation, which can only happen when tech companies are more open and accountable.
