Instagram Isn’t the Only Social Media That’s Hurting Girls
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat—they’re all damaging young psyches, and have been for years.
Nancy Jo Sales is a longtime writer for Vanity Fair, a bestselling author and documentary filmmaker.
“This research is the definition of a bombshell,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal at the Congressional hearing Tuesday, during which Frances Haugen, the Facebook whistleblower, testified about the tech company’s suppression of internal studies showing the harmful effects of its products on the mental health of kids, especially girls.
Seriously, where has he been?
Researchers and journalists like me have been reporting on the alarming effects of social media on kids for years, and at this point there’s little excuse for anyone—including people who work in the tech industry, politicians and parents—to claim ignorance when it comes to the dangers. The many types of harm coming to kids on Facebook and Instagram aren’t just a problem of these sites either. They also come from Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Tinder (where, yes, kids sign up using fake accounts) and countless others.