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Recode Daily

Instagram is bad for teens’ self-esteem, and it knows it

Recode Daily

Recode

Society & Culture, Science, Technology

4.61.3K Ratings

🗓️ 17 September 2021

⏱️ 16 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

New reporting from the Wall Street Journal confirms what many teens already knew: Instagram can be harmful to their body image and self-esteem. And as it turns out, the company knows it too. Recode Media’s Peter Kafka (@pkafka) asked Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, about these revelations. References: Listen to Peter’s full interview with Adam Mosseri here Read the Wall Street Journal’s reporting here Enjoyed this episode? Rate Recode Daily and Recode Media ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. What do you want to learn about on Recode Daily? Send your requests and questions to recodedaily@recode.net. We read every email! Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear the next episode of Recode Daily by subscribing in your favorite podcast app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Recode Daily is made by: Host: Adam Clark Estes (@adamclarkestes\) Producer: Alan Rodriguez Espinoza (@ardzes) Engineer: Paul Robert Mounsey Recode Media is made by: Host: Peter Kafka Producer: Jelani Carter Engineer: Joel Raabe Support Recode Daily and Recode Media by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:40.5

It's no secret that Instagram can sometimes make its users, especially those that are

0:45.2

teenage girls, feel bad about their bodies. When you're scrolling through Instagram and all

0:49.9

you're seeing is happy faces and pretty things and all these beautiful things you can't help

0:54.9

wonder why don't I have those beautiful things and how come I don't have a beautiful smile.

1:00.8

Social media is heavily affecting my body image the way that I look at myself. And unfortunately,

1:07.0

what's most popular tends to be synonymous with attraction. What's most popular is what's most

1:12.5

beautiful. This week, the Wall Street Journal dropped a bombshell report about Instagram that

1:18.0

confirmed what most young women already know. The app can be terrible for your mental health.

1:24.1

In the company knows it too. The Wall Street Journal says Facebook research is repeatedly

1:28.6

warned that the photo sharing platform can harm mental health and body image, especially

1:33.0

for teenage girls. The internal Facebook report puts it bluntly. We make body image issues

1:39.0

worse for one in three teen girls. Our very own Peter Kafka interviewed the head of Instagram,

1:45.5

Adam Asari, on the recode media podcast this week and he asked him about that report. Here's Peter.

1:53.4

I'm here with Adam Asari who is head of Instagram. Welcome Adam. Thank you for having me.

1:57.8

Uh, you've had a week. It has been a busy week. It's been a busy 18 months, but it's been a

2:03.2

particularly busy week. You're here in New York. You went to the Met Gala on Monday and on Tuesday,

...

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