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(TNSRes) -- Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health issued the following news:
A recent investigation by the Wall Street Journal revealed that Facebook was aware of mental health risks linked to the use of its Instagram app but kept those findings secret. Internal research by the social media giant found that Instagram worsened body image issues for one in three teenage girls, and all teenage users of the app linked it to experiences of anxiety and depression. It isn't the first evidence of social media's harms. Watchdog groups have identified Facebook and Instagram as avenues for cyberbullying, and reports have linked TikTok to dangerous and antisocial behavior, including a recent spate of school vandalism.
As social media has proliferated worldwide--Facebook has 2.85 billion users--so too have concerns over how the platforms are affecting individual and collective wellbeing. Social media is criticized for being addictive by design and for its role in the spread of misinformation on critical issues from vaccine safety to election integrity, as well as the rise of right-wing extremism. Social media companies, and many users, defend the platforms as avenues for promoting creativity and community-building. And some research has pushed back against the idea that social media raises the risk for depression in teens. So just how healthy or unhealthy is social media?
Two experts from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and Columbia Psychiatry share their insights into one crucial aspect of social media's influence--its effect on the mental health of young people and adults. Deborah Glasofer, associate professor of psychology in psychiatry, conducts psychotherapy development research for adults with eating disorders and teaches about cognitive behavioral therapy. She is the co-author of...