Celebrity content on Instagram is linked to negative feelings: Facebook researchers

Social media stars like Kim Kardashian, Justin Bieber and Charli D’Amelio are among the celebrities whose Instagram followers experience the most negative feelings about their own image, according to an internal Facebook investigation revealed by The Wall. Street Journal this week.

The newspaper on Wednesday published the leaked images of the research presentation, which served as the basis for articles it published earlier in the month saying that Facebook knew that its applications were damaging the mental health of some teenagers and young users.

The research, titled “Social Comparison on Instagram,” surveyed 100,000 people in March and April 2020 in nine countries, including the United States, Australia and Brazil.

Facebook spokesperson Kevin McAlister said respondents were not asked to name specific accounts, but the researchers found that celebrity accounts were “some of the most viewed accounts by people who told us they experienced higher or higher levels. low negative social comparison on Instagram “, according to internal company data.

He noted that the findings make sense because the celebrities listed have more than 30 million followers each.

The Facebook researchers did not study whether users’ exposure to these celebrity accounts generated negative feelings about themselves.

Singer Ariana Grande and model Kendall Jenner were among the personalities whose followers felt a more negative social comparison, according to the researchers. They also noted in the leaked material that the company could partner with stars in campaigns to reduce the negative comparison.

On the other hand, the Instagram accounts belonging to “The Ellen Show” -controlled by the comedian Ellen DeGeneres-, the American actor Will Smith and the Brazilian soccer player Neymar had followers who felt “a less negative comparison”, according to the material of the investigation.

The study found that viewing more celebrity content on Instagram is associated with a more negative comparison. Almost half of the content people see on Instagram comes from celebrities, according to research.