Tech conglomerate Meta has recently released data on how frequently bullying is encountered across its social media platforms.
Mental health and social media is a discussion that, while always having been around, is gaining a lot of traction nowadays. Naturally, platforms such as Facebook and Instagram are very much a part of the discussion. The social network, as a matter of fact, enjoys a dead center position in the discussion nowadays, owing to a certain ex-employee that leaked data showing just how much the platform harms its users mental health. Ultimately, with social media and trends being a young individual's game, despite adults joining in every now and then, the conversation will always shift to bullying.
Facebook users saw instances of bullying 14 to 15 times out of every 10,000 views on the platform. Instagram does even better, with users encountering such negative content 5 to 6 times out of every 10,000 views. Meta further stated that the company had taken down 9.2 million of such posts from Facebook and 7.8 million of them from Instagram. All of these posts were just from the third quarter of 2021. Take a moment for that depressing thought to register, if you'd like to. Good on Meta for, well, doing its job, but one wonders how much free time users have to post this much hateful content, and that took within just one quarter. Then again, hate has never seen it fit to take a day off.
What should be pointed out is that hate speech is often demarcated from bullying in the company's reports, which means that actual numbers could potentially go a bit higher than what's given. A Meta executive, specifically the Vice President of Integrity for the company, has stated that the majority of content across Facebook and Instagram is considered to be good, wholesome, and at least not violating community guidelines. However, the demarcation points for what is and isn't considered bullying are only further muddled by content such as political discourse, which often escapes algorithms and guidelines under the guise of free speech. This gives many users an outlet to embellish upon hateful and spiteful narratives, while still taking the upper ground and calling themselves politically conscious.
Read next: WhatsApp Web Is No Longer Allowing Some Group Users/Admins To Access Older Messages Outside Of Their Phone
Mental health and social media is a discussion that, while always having been around, is gaining a lot of traction nowadays. Naturally, platforms such as Facebook and Instagram are very much a part of the discussion. The social network, as a matter of fact, enjoys a dead center position in the discussion nowadays, owing to a certain ex-employee that leaked data showing just how much the platform harms its users mental health. Ultimately, with social media and trends being a young individual's game, despite adults joining in every now and then, the conversation will always shift to bullying.
Facebook users saw instances of bullying 14 to 15 times out of every 10,000 views on the platform. Instagram does even better, with users encountering such negative content 5 to 6 times out of every 10,000 views. Meta further stated that the company had taken down 9.2 million of such posts from Facebook and 7.8 million of them from Instagram. All of these posts were just from the third quarter of 2021. Take a moment for that depressing thought to register, if you'd like to. Good on Meta for, well, doing its job, but one wonders how much free time users have to post this much hateful content, and that took within just one quarter. Then again, hate has never seen it fit to take a day off.
What should be pointed out is that hate speech is often demarcated from bullying in the company's reports, which means that actual numbers could potentially go a bit higher than what's given. A Meta executive, specifically the Vice President of Integrity for the company, has stated that the majority of content across Facebook and Instagram is considered to be good, wholesome, and at least not violating community guidelines. However, the demarcation points for what is and isn't considered bullying are only further muddled by content such as political discourse, which often escapes algorithms and guidelines under the guise of free speech. This gives many users an outlet to embellish upon hateful and spiteful narratives, while still taking the upper ground and calling themselves politically conscious.
Read next: WhatsApp Web Is No Longer Allowing Some Group Users/Admins To Access Older Messages Outside Of Their Phone