Meta Internal Research: Instagram Shows More Content "Short Eating Disorders" To Vulnerable Teenagers

Instagram turns out to see content with the theme eating disorder adjacent more often (photo: x @republic ·)

JAKARTA An internal document obtained by Reuters reveals that teenagers who report bad feelings towards their bodies after using Instagram turn out to see more content with the theme eating disorder" or content related to eating disorders and negative body images than other users.

Meta's internal research shows that posts that appear on the homepage of teenagers often display certain body parts such as chests, buttocks, and thighs, accompanied by an explicit assessment of body shape, as well as content that alludes to unhealthy eating patterns or dissatisfaction with the body.

During the 2023'2024 school year, Meta interviewed 1,149 teenagers to assess how often they felt bad about their bodies after using Instagram. The results were surprising: 223 teenagers who were most often dissatisfied with their bodies turned out to be looking at 10.5% of eating disorders, compared to 3.3% in other groups.

Meta researchers wrote that teens who often feel dissatisfied with their bodies see three times more such content than other teens. In addition, the group is also more often treated to provocative and adverse' content, including the 'risk behavior' themes, violence, and suffering which in total reach 27% of the total content they see, almost twice that of a group of teenagers who do not report negative feelings.

Even so, Meta emphasized that this study does not prove a direct causal relationship between Instagram and the emergence of bad feelings about the body. It could be that teenagers who already have negative body images are more active in looking for such content.

In a statement, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said that these findings demonstrate the company's commitment to understanding and improving their products.

"This research is proof that we are serious about understanding youth experiences and using that insight to create a safer and more supportive platform," he said. Stone added that Meta is now trying to limit content for underage users to be commensurate with PG-13 film standards.

However, the study also found a major weakness in the Meta filtering system: 98.5% of potentially harmful sensitive content not being detected by automated surveillance algorithms. The researchers admit this is "not surprising" because the new system detecting sensitive content is still in the development stage.

From the results of the research, external experts such as Jenny Radesky, professor of pediatrics from the University of Michigan, called the findings "worry but credible."

"This reinforces the view that teens with psychological vulnerabilities are being profiled by Instagram algorithms and get more exposure to harmful content," said Radesky.

Some of the content samples that are considered problematic include images of thin women in underwear, video fights, and depression themed illustrations with posts such as how could I ever compete' and make it all over. One picture even shows the neck of the injured woman even though they don't violate the platform rules, the researchers think the content is extreme enough to be given a sensitive content' warning in their report.

Meta itself admits that various groups ranging from parents, pediatricians, to internal advisory boards on eating disorders and body images have long asked companies to limit the spread of body-themed content for teens because it has the potential to worsen mental well-being.

The research adds to the long list of public concerns and regulators over the impact Instagram's algorithms have on young people, amid federal investigations and lawsuits from a number of school districts in the United States accusing Meta of failing to protect teenage users from psychological harm on its platform.