Academic research has long suggested that Instagram harms users’ mental health.
But a surprising new study has claimed that the social media app does not cause anxiety, loneliness or depression.
Critics today accused Meta, which owns Instagram and funded the study, of using “Big Tobacco” tactics in funding the research, saying it “paints a highly selective picture for lawmakers and regulators.”
It even clashes with Meta’s own internal research, which found that UK teenagers attributed their suicidal thoughts to the app.
Previous studies found a negative link between mental well-being and social media use, but researchers say it often had a female bias and focus on younger adults.
The publication of the document comes as Ofcom consults on strict new powers under the Online Safety Act that will punish big tech platforms if they fail to protect users from harmful content.
The article was presented at the prestigious Cyberpsychology Section Conference, run by the British Psychological Society.
372 people with Instagram accounts and 100 without them were analyzed, with an average age of 44 years.
They were first asked how much they used the platform to interact, browse and stream.
They were then asked to complete a questionnaire to assess their levels of anxiety, depression and loneliness.
It concluded that “adults who use Instagram are no more likely to suffer from anxiety, depression or loneliness than those who do not.”
However, buried deep at the end of the 7,000-word study, it revealed that the study’s authors, Professor Thomas Pollet and Dr Sam Roberts, had received funding from Facebook Research.
In a statement, under the heading “conflict of interest,” it states that the company “played no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.”
Researchers say adults who use Instagram are no more likely to suffer from anxiety, depression or loneliness than those who don’t.
After being contacted by the Mail, the authors added that if they had reached the opposite conclusion, “they would have been published in exactly the same way.”
However, their conclusion stands in stark contrast to dozens of studies conducted over the past decade that have found that social media negatively impacts users’ mental well-being.
This includes academic research focused specifically on Instagram.
A 2019 study of women aged 18 to 35 showed that its use “significantly” worsened their mental state, including anxiety and depression.
While in 2021, whistleblower Frances Haugen revealed how the tech giant’s own internal investigation found that Instagram worsened the body image issues of one in three girls, with 13 per cent of UK teenagers blaming their suicidal thoughts. to the application.
The following year, a coroner ruled that social media had contributed to the death of 14-year-old Molly Russell. The investigation discovered how she had been bombarded on Instagram with self-harm and suicide content.
Andy Burrows of the Molly Rose Foundation, set up in the teenager’s name, said: “Listening directly to the Big Tobacco playbook, Big Tech wants to fund research that presents a highly selective picture to lawmakers and regulators.”
“Meta’s empty and predictable funding strategy has more to do with its bottom line than a greater understanding of social media and its impacts, whether ultimately good or bad.”
While admitting that previous studies had found a negative link between mental well-being and social media use, the study’s authors dismissed them as having “a female bias and a focus on younger adults,” who were between 18 and 30 years.
Lead author Dr Roberts, senior lecturer in psychology at Liverpool John Moores University, said: “We know that different groups can be affected in different ways by Instagram use, and our study adds to a body of research They have found that the overall use of social media in adult well-being is very small.
“The average age of our study participants was much older than the average age of those who participated in previous research, which could have impacted the findings, and also suggests that different groups respond differently to social media and its possible impact on well-being.’
Imran Ahmed, executive director of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, said: “By directly funding research into the harms their products inflict on the public, tech companies presumably hope to muddy the waters and undermine faith in the established link between the use of social media and poor mental health in some people.
‘It is understandable that people can question the conclusions drawn from research when it has been paid for by the topic being studied.
“This is part of much broader efforts in recent years to end transparency and accountability for the obvious harm that social media is causing to people’s health and our society as a whole.”
Meta has been contacted for comment.