By Jessica Bursztynsky, Lauren Feiner - CNBC
Facebook has repeatedly found that its Instagram application is harmful to some teenagers, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal published Tuesday.
This medium cited
studies of the technology company from the last three years
that examined how the social network of images affects young users, and especially
teenagers.
Among those who reported having
suicidal thoughts
, 13% of users in the UK and 6% in the US attributed the problem to Instagram, according to an internal Facebook submission.
"
32% of adolescent girls said that when they felt bad about their body, Instagram made them feel worse,"
the researchers wrote.
Facebook also found that 14% of US men said that Instagram made them feel worse about themselves.
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Although Facebook concluded that a large percentage of teens are not harmed by Instagram, the characteristics that the social media company identified as the most damaging are key to its makeup.
According to the report, the researchers warned that Instagram's browse page, which offers users selected posts from a wide range of accounts, can push users into potentially harmful content.
The app also has a culture of posting only the best photos and moments, and it works as an addictive product.
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"Aspects of Instagram exacerbate each other to create a perfect storm
,
"
says the investigation, according to the newspaper.
Senior executives have reviewed the investigation, which was cited in a presentation last year to CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Still, Facebook has reportedly struggled to manage the problem and keep users engaged and connected.
Facebook is also creating a version of Instagram for children under the age of 13.
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Young users are the key to Instagram's success.
More than 40% of Instagram users are 22 years old or younger,
according to the material consulted by the aforementioned medium.
Instagram's head of public policy, Karina Newton, responded to the information, saying the company is investigating ways to steer users away from being obsessed with certain types of Instagram posts.
"We are exploring ways to prompt them to look at other topics if they are repeatedly looking at this type of content," Newton said.
"We are cautiously optimistic that these nudges will help point people to content that inspires and uplifts them, and to a greater extent, it will change the part of Instagram culture that focuses on how people look," he added.
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The report raised the concerns of at least one lawmaker about Facebook's exploration of a children's version of Instagram.
Massachusetts Democratic Congresswoman Lori Trahan has made children's mental health in relation to social media use a key priority and previously chided Facebook for considering such a product.
Following the report,
Trahan called on Facebook to "immediately abandon Instagram plans for children"
and focus instead on protecting existing young users.
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"Internal Facebook documents demonstrate that the company's inability to protect children on Instagram - especially girls - is
utter negligence
and has been going on for years," Trahan said in a statement.
"Facebook has nothing to do with developing additional social media platforms explicitly designed for our children when they cannot be trusted to keep their current house in order."
Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Washington, the top Republican on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, has also made children's online mental health a cornerstone of her platform.
In a statement Tuesday, he said Facebook "refused to comply" with a request from Republicans on the committee in March calling for its internal investigation into the impact of its products on children's mental health.
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A Facebook representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the allegation.
"This also makes us wonder what else they are hiding," McMorris Rodgers said.
"We will continue to demand transparency from Facebook and other big tech companies
, especially when it comes to the harm their products have on our children."
Republicans have circulated discussion drafts of bills, including one that would require platforms like Facebook to submit periodic reports to the Federal Trade Commission on the impact of their companies on children's mental health.
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"knows Instagram is toxic to teens, but they don't care - they
're too busy shutting down conservatives and cracking down on free speech," Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley said on Twitter.
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts, called the report's findings "appalling" in a tweet and said he would "demand answers from Mark Zuckerberg."
Democratic Federal Trade Commission Commissioner Rohit Chopra later tweeted: "Given the financial incentives embedded in their surveillance-based business model, it's one more sign that the company cannot be trusted with our data. ".
