New report published last week revealed how much the content of the Instagram promotes the eating disorders in women and adolescents. And not surprisingly: There are too many.
The data, from the SumOfUs team, comes to light shortly after a series of explosive Wall Street Journal articles claiming that the company is fully aware of the negative impact of its platform - including the toxic impact it has on teenage girls.
And while experts in eating disorders have long warned that Instagram can help feed eating disorders, (this) together with the new reports create a picture of a problem that is getting out of control.
«Eating disorder experts are extremely concerned about the detrimental effects of social media, not only on those with eating disorders, but also on those with disordered eating, mood disorders and poor body image (of) themselves,» said psychologist Samantha De Caro, director of clinical outreach and education at the Renfrew Center, a residential and treatment center for eating disorders.
How Instagram can harm teenage girls and young women
The new SumOfUs report looked at a sample of 720 Instagram posts, of which 240 were about eating disorders. The report also looked at posts about plastic surgery and skin whitening.
The researchers found that 87.6% of eating disorder-related publications pushed unapproved appetite suppressants, while nearly 53% directly promoted eating disorders.
They included some examples of harmful posts, including those directly promoting extreme diets (such as a daily meal plan that has far fewer than 200 calories a day), as well as images of teenage girls with captions full of negative self-talk.
However, there are millions of posts with eating disorder-related hashtags that Facebook (which owns Instagram) does little to combat, the report argues.
«While Instagram takes action to remove the most prominent hashtags that promote eating disorders, Instagram users can easily get around this by using creative hashtags ... to avoid attempts to hide their content,» the researchers write.
And mental health experts warn that even content that doesn't seem obviously toxic can be very harmful to teenagers. For example, when Instagram influencers post videos about what they eat in a day, many teens faithfully follow their advice, even though they're not nutrition experts or doctors - and learn to reject their own preferences and hunger cues, DeCaro says.
«There is also research suggesting that the simple act of editing and posting a photo can potentially increase anxiety, weight concerns and the urge to limit (it),» he adds.
What teenagers and parents can do about it
It is not clear to what extent Facebook or Congress will make changes to better protect teens and adolescents from the impact of social media on mental health and body image. Facebook had previously dismissed claims that its platforms are harmful to teens, saying that research linking the decline of adolescent mental health and social media is lacking in evidence.
However, the company's executives have gathered for extraordinary meetings in recent weeks, the New York Times reported. The company recently put aside plans for Instagram Kids, a service aimed at children ages 8 to 12, at least for now.
But for now, much of the burden of Instagram's toxic impact on teenagers' mental health falls squarely on parents and children themselves.
«When I read the report I kept feeling shocked and sad ... but it's nothing new,» says Gillian Lambert, chief strategist for The Emily Program, an eating disorder treatment program. «We know that social media, and images in particular, have a really significant impact on the people who see them. Particularly young, developing brains.».
Parents can start by simply knowing what accounts children have - including any “finstas” - and follow them, Lambert urged. Talk directly to teens about what they're watching, what they're posting and how they feel about it all. (She noted that she's a mom of teens herself and didn't know her kids had other Instagram accounts for a year.)
Setting clear limits on when they use their devices can also help.
«Do they have their cell phone in the room all night? Is the WiFi on all the time?» says Lambert. «We know it's tempting! We know that kids won't put down their cell phone and say: ”Hmm, I probably shouldn't do it anymore. It's not good for my developing brain.”».
Because ultimately, while Instagram can be a toxic environment for kids 8 to 12, teens, and young adults, social media is an important part of connecting and socializing for them - and can be a powerful way to connect with therapists and trusted therapies, for example, DeCaro says.
«Social media can also be a way for younger people to seek out and follow people of diverse body types, abilities, genders, races, ethnicities and sexualities to challenge the toxic narratives pushed on us by the beauty and nutrition industries,» she adds.
The challenge is to help teenagers to make the most of these potential advantages, while avoiding content that promotes destructive behaviour - and this cannot be done by parents alone. Advocacy groups like Fairplay are working to make the internet safer for young people, and have publicly and strongly rejected Instagram for kids alongside child development experts.
The company itself must also take action. Earlier this year, Instagram tested hiding likes as a way to promote better mental health when using the app. Some have suggested other changes to the app - such as pulling photos that (show that the person) has been cosmetically altered - could also make a difference.
It is up to everyone to take this issue seriously. Reminding teens and adolescents that social media does not reflect reality and setting boundaries can also help.
