Meta Opens Pilot Program For Researchers To Study Instagram's Impact On Teen Mental Health

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Atlantic: Now, after years of contentious relationships with academic researchers, Meta is opening a small pilot program that would allow a handful of them to access Instagram data for up to about six months in order to study the app's effect on the well-being of teens and young adults. The company will announce today that it is seeking proposals that focus on certain research areas -- investigating whether social-media use is associated with different effects in different regions of the world, for example -- and that it plans to accept up to seven submissions. Once approved, researchers will be able to access relevant data from study participants -- how many accounts they follow, for example, or how much they use Instagram and when. Meta has said that certain types of data will be off-limits, such as user-demographic information and the content of media published by users; a full list of eligible data is forthcoming, and it is as yet unclear whether internal information related to ads that are served to users or Instagram's content-sorting algorithm, for example, might be provided. The program is being run in partnership with the Center for Open Science, or COS, a nonprofit. Researchers, not Meta, will be responsible for recruiting the teens, and will be required to get parental consent and take privacy precautions.

The tobacco model again!

[BishopBerkeley]

They will produce all these studies designed to show that social media and AI are beneficial to kids. As implied in the article:

"The company will announce today that it is seeking proposals that focus on certain research areas -- investigating whether social-media use is associated with different effects in different regions of the world, for example -- and that it plans to accept up to seven submissions."

Anyone want to bet which studies they'll choose?

Everyone should watch Manufacturing Ignorance: https://youtu.be/im0s-UDLExg?s... [youtu.be]

Re:

[mjwx]

They will produce all these studies designed to show that social media and AI are beneficial to kids. As implied in the article:

"The company will announce today that it is seeking proposals that focus on certain research areas -- investigating whether social-media use is associated with different effects in different regions of the world, for example -- and that it plans to accept up to seven submissions."

Anyone want to bet which studies they'll choose?

Everyone should watch Manufacturing Ignorance: https://youtu.be/im0s-UDLExg?s... [youtu.be]

In other news, a study today released by Phillip Morris reveals that smoking does not cause cancer and is beneficial to your health and beauty.

Always, always, always mind your sources.

Re:

[tlhIngan]

In other news, a study today released by Phillip Morris reveals that smoking does not cause cancer and is beneficial to your health and beauty.

Well, there were actually studies that showed it - smoking did reduce the chance of dementia and did reduce the risk of cancer.

Of course, that does ignore the fact that smoking gives rise to other forms of dementia and cancer, but nicotine itself could help. It's just the helpful bit is small and greatly outweighed by the unhelpful bits.

So yeah, smoke and you'll redu

Re:

[Rick Schumann]

You literally took the words right out of my mouth.

Re:

[evanh]

The problem is somewhat different though. The main issue is the algorithms encouraging bad behaviour through grouping like-minded together where a culture of treating lying and bullying as a game is perpetuated.

A study controlled by Meta

[Pf0tzenpfritz]

So a selected few scientists will be allowed by Meta to do a "study" about Meta using data provided and filtered by Meta. Basically, they are trying to find somebody who will write their PR for free. If nobody will be willing they still can claim they have offered to cooperate. Cheap, shabby and obviously trying to discredit scientific research for their own profit. There's nothing too low for Facebook.

finger on the scale

[Big Hairy Gorilla]

Good public relations move. I'd do that too. Start a study so you can set the parameters for all the little mice to run around in. Like Google Sidewalk in Toronto. But that was probably 10 years ago now. Didn't really turn out like anyone thought or wanted IMO because it was mostly fierce battles of ideology. I doubt FB will have that in the new era of Authoritarianism we are entering. We're too busy criticizing Microsoft for not respecting fair use, so Facebook will steer the discussion as much as possible

Call it opposition research

[Required Snark]

Besides spewing pseudo-scientific propaganda, this is also a vehicle for infiltrating legitimate research into the effects of social media on targeted population segments. Then when real results are available the bogus rebuttals will be already in place.

And "experts" can be provided to legislators so that when Meta written bills are submitted there will be cover for making that the rules and regulations. That, along with the now legalized bribe (excuse me, campaign contribution) pipeline of funds and perk

Defense

[fluffernutter]

You don't need to be an ethics expert to see the conflict of interest here. It's more like Meta is preparing their defense.

Teen boredom more than anything else!

[smazsyr]

It is worth noting that studies have already been underway, including this one, publicized yesterday, finding that for teens, Insta is mostly a big yawn: https://scienceblog.com/546084... [scienceblog.com]

old news?

[LazarusQLong]

I thought that there were already numerous studies that showed that in general social media sites were not healthy for their users mental health?

Well, at least they're not X

[mmell]

That's . . . good?

stochastic murderers

[wesolve4]

Remember when facebook probably killed at least one person by making their news feed depressing and didn't tell anybody?