Technology

Instagram seeks to curb psychological harm to teenagers

San Francisco: Facebook-owned social media platform Instagram is reportedly trying to curb the mental health of teenagers specially girls— and will play a post promoting a myth about a beautiful body.

Published

1 week ago

Sep 15, 2021 10:28 AM

Mehak Javed

Instagram seeks to curb psychological harm to teenagers

On Tuesday, the company said it will protect itself from reports that social networks are detrimental to the mental health of young girls.

Instagram’s head of public policy, Karina Newton opposed a report from The Wall Street Journal that Facebook’s research shows that photo-centric Instagram services hit teenagers, especially girls.

“Studies on the impact of social media on people’s well-being are mixed, and our own research reflects external research,” Newton said in a post.

She further said, “What seems to be most important is how people use social media and their state of mind when using it”.

She quoted a Harvard study that focused on the “seesaw” of positive and negative experiences that teens in the United States experienced on social media.

Teens can clash with the same person the other day after enjoying connecting with friends on social networks one day.

The journal reports that Instagram has reduced the harm done to millions of young people connected daily.

“As issues such as negative social comparisons and anxiety exist in the world, they will also exist on social media,” Newton added.

According to Wall Street Journal, internal research has pointed out that teenagers have accused Instagram of increasing anxiety and depression.

“Instagram has been working to address the issues of bullying, suicide, self-harm and eating disorders published on the platform,” Karina pointed out.

According to Newton, Instagram now understands what types of posts are offensive to viewers and seeks ways to “nudge” content that is likely to make people feel good.

“We are increasingly focusing on addressing negative social comparisons and negative body images,” said Newton.

Meanwhile, Instagram is creating a version of social networks for children under the age of 13, a move opposed by child safety advocates.

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Mehak Javed

Mehak Javed is a senior editor at GNN, known for writing top quality content which garner very high readerships and has been covering every field of journalism, including politics, media, sports and scholarly articles. Mehak Javed is nothing less than a Veteran Editor and has been writing for GNN for the past 7 months.

Pakistan

With 73 new fatalities, Pakistan's COVID-19 death count nears 27,000

Islamabad: Pakistan is witnessing daily surge in COVID-19 cases with authorities linking the upswing to the deadly fourth wave. Today country’s positivity rate is on 4.78%.

Published

1 week ago

Sep 15, 2021 08:52 AM

Mehak Javed

With 73 new fatalities, Pakistan's COVID-19 death count nears 27,000

As per National Command and Control Center (NCOC), around 2,714 cases of coronavirus were reported while 73 people succumbed to the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total death toll to 26,938.

Pakistan conducted a total of 56,733 tests in the last 24 hours.

As per the NCOC, total confirmed cases are 1,212,809 whereas 5,122 are under critical care.

Punjab

The number of patients swelled to 416,901 in the province with 12,291 causalities.

Sindh

The number of infections has surged to 446,840 in the province, while the death toll has reached 7,192.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The confirmed cases have surged to 169,429 in the province with 5,310 casualties.

Balochistan

There are 32,658 confirmed cases while 344 patients have died from the infection so far.

AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan

There are 33,490 coronavirus cases in the AJK while the death toll has reached 727. On the other hand, there are 10,198 cases in GB with 182 coronavirus deaths.

Islamabad

There are 103,293 cases in the capital city while 892 people have lost their lives.

Pakistan

Pakistan records dip in daily new COVID-19 cases

Islamabad: Pakistan has reported 2,928 new coronavirus cases in last 24 hours, the lowest spike in daily new infections in nearly a week.

Published

6 days ago

Sep 17, 2021 08:44 AM

Mehak Javed

Pakistan records dip in daily new COVID-19 cases

Pakistan is presently experiencing the fourth wave of coronavirus which is said to be deadlier and more contagious than previous three COVID waves.

According to National Command and Operations Center (NCOC), around 2,928 cases of coronavirus were reported while 68 people succumbed to the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total death toll to 27,072.

The total number of cases has reached 1,218,749.

As many as 1,125,952 patients have recovered from the disease with 4,960 critical cases.

Punjab

The number of patients swelled to 419,423 in the province with 12,345 causalities.

Sindh

The number of infections has surged to 448,658 in the province, while the death toll has reached 7,224.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The confirmed cases have surged to 170,391 in the province with 5,354 casualties.

Balochistan

There are 32,707 confirmed cases while 344 patients have died from the infection so far.

AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan

There are 33,628 coronavirus cases in the AJK while the death toll has reached 728. On the other hand, there are 10,222 cases in GB with 182 coronavirus deaths.

Islamabad

There are 103,720 cases in the capital city while 895 people have lost their lives.

Pakistan

Pakistan: Daily COVID-19 cases drop below 2,000

Pakistan is presently experiencing the fourth wave of coronavirus which is said to be deadlier and more contagious than previous three COVID waves.

Published

2 days ago

Sep 21, 2021 08:16 AM

Mehak Javed

Islamabad: Pakistan's coronavirus positivity ratio decreased to 4.10% from more than 11% a couple of weeks ago.

Pakistan is presently experiencing the fourth wave of coronavirus which is said to be deadlier and more contagious than previous three COVID waves.

According to National Command and Operations Center (NCOC), around 1,897 cases of coronavirus were reported while 81 people succumbed to the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total death toll to 27,327. The daily Covid-19 positivity rate in Pakistan is at 4.22%.

The total number of cases has reached 1,227,905.

As many as 1,137,656 patients have recovered from the disease with 4,846 critical cases.

Punjab

The number of patients swelled to 423,670 in the province with 12,449 causalities.

Sindh

The number of infections has surged to 451,448 in the province, while the death toll has reached 7,289.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The confirmed cases have surged to 171,589 in the province with 5,426 casualties.

Balochistan

There are 32,772 confirmed cases while 344 patients have died from the infection so far.

AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan

There are 33,821 coronavirus cases in the AJK while the death toll has reached 733. On the other hand, there are 10,257 cases in GB with 182 coronavirus deaths.

Islamabad

There are 104,348 cases in the capital city while 904 people have lost their lives.