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from emotional distress,2'yet may be recommended more negative content based on their
<br /> previous behavior.29 Former Meta employee Frances Haugen has described how the company
<br /> (then called Facebook) documented this harmful cycle in its own internal research on
<br /> Instagram: "And what's super tragic is Facebook's own research says, as these young women
<br /> begin to consume this --this eating disorder content, they get more and more depressed. And it
<br /> actually makes them use the app more. And so, they end up in this feedback cycle where they
<br /> hate their bodies more and more."30
<br /> Harm to body image
<br /> Design features that maximize time spent on social media can also lead to heightened exposure
<br /> to content which increases minors' susceptibility to poor body image and, consequently,
<br /> disordered eating. A 2019 study of 7th and 8th graders in the International Journal of Eating
<br /> Disorders "suggest[ed] that [social media], particularly platforms with a strong focus on image
<br /> posting and viewing, is associated with elevated [disordered eating] cognitions and behaviors in
<br /> young adolescents."31 Another study found a positive correlation between higher Instagram use
<br /> and orthorexia nervosa diagnoses.32 Personal stories from sufferers of disordered eating have
<br /> highlighted the link to social media,33 as has Meta's own internal research; the documents
<br /> Frances Haugen shared with the Wall Street Journal in 2021 revealed that Facebook has been
<br /> aware at least since 2019 that "[w]e make body image issues worse for one in three teen
<br /> girls."34
<br /> Risk of problematic internet use and its associated harms
<br /> Maximizing time and activities online also fosters "problematic internet use"—psychologists'
<br /> term for excessive internet activity that exhibits addiction, impulsivity, or compulsion.35 A 2016
<br /> 28Amanda Baughan et al., "1 Don't Even Remember What 1 Read":How Design Influences Dissociation on Social
<br /> Media,CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1-13 (2022),
<br /> https:Hdi.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3491102.3501899.
<br /> 29 Kait Sanchez,Go Watch this WSJ investigation of TikTok's Algorithm, The Verge, (July 21,2021),
<br /> https://www.th everge.com/2021/7/21/22587113/ti ktok-algorithm-wsj-investigation-ra b bit-hole.
<br /> 30 Scott Pelley, Whistleblower:Facebook is misleading the public on progress against hate speech, violence,
<br /> misinformation CBS (Oct.3 2021),.I21��a.. . a :)1ow� i a Ia. � �rr < w�ia�l� l i � � . � ........i�..................................................................................................................................................................................... ...
<br /> ....
<br /> n..!..al..n,f;o.l:am,a„t,io.in.::.p,aa.:-...!.. ::.9�.0.:-.i"r!..!..i�,aa.:te a.:-. :0. ::�.:::.:.:. ::.?.../•
<br /> 31 Simon M.Wilksch et al., The Relationship Between Social Media Use and Disordered Eating in Young Adolescents,
<br /> 53 Int.J. Eat. Disord.96, 104(2020).
<br /> 32 Pixie G.Turner&Carmen E. Lefevre, Instagram Use Is Linked to Increased Symptoms of Orthorexia Nervosa,22
<br /> Eating Weight Disorders 277, 281(2017).
<br /> 33 See, e.g.,Jennifer Neda John,Instagram Triggered My Eating Disorder,Slate(Oct. 14,2021),
<br /> https:Hslate.com/technology/2021/10/instagram-social-media-eating-disorder-trigger.htmi; Clea Skopeliti, '1 Felt
<br /> My Body Wasn't Good Enough': Teenage Troubles with Instagram,The Guardian (Sep. 18,2021),
<br /> https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/sep/18/i-felt-my-body-wasnt-good-enough-teenage-troubles-with-
<br /> instagram.
<br /> 34 Georgia Wells et al.,Facebook Knows Instagram Is Toxic for Teen Girls, Company Documents Show,W.S.J. (Sept.
<br /> 14,2021), https://www.wsi.com/articles/facebook-knows-instagram-is-toxic-for-teen-girls-company-documents-
<br /> show-11631620739.
<br /> 35 Chloe Wilkinson et al.,Screen Time: The Effects on Children's Emotional,Social, and Cognitive Development,
<br /> Informed Futures,at 6, (2021), https:Hinformedfutures.org/wp-content/uploads/Screen-time-The-effects-on-
<br /> childrens-emotional-social-cognitive-development.pdf.
<br /> Testimony of Josh Golin, Fairplay, February 14, 2023 6
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