Bautista, Kim Ericka L.

Position Paper

“Social Media Toxicity to Teens”

“Did Congress have to take actions or not?”

Recently, a former Facebook product manager named Frances Haugen released

tens of thousands of pages of internal research and documents indicating the company
was aware of various caused by it’s app including its potential “toxic” effect on teen girls
and she called on Congress to take actions against the social media platform.
I argue that it will help if the Congress takes on action regarding this issue to stablish a
strong policy/policies in the internet.

In these past few weeks, the Facebook grilled by Senators over its effect on
children. The company faces accusations that it hid research showing the mental and
emotional harm that Instagram, it’s photo sharing app, has on teenagers.

Social media refers to the environments that change the way people
communicate, interest and socialize and in meantime, allow people to express
themselves as they want. With new apps on smartphones and photography and videos
made digital, media can be created, edited and shared, once it is in this new digital
cloud it is not yours anymore. Through these new advances in technology one can
share things about themselves to the world to view.

The social media site offers adolescence new ways to access communication
and entertainment and the long-term effects are still unknown. In September 30, 2021 –
October 9, 2021, Washington Lawmakers took sharp aim at Facebook harshly
questioning one of its executives about Instagram’s effect on teenagers, that illuminated
the growing bipartisan frustrations and concerns with social media giant.

In the statement of Kevin Mcalister, Facebook spokesperson, in an e-mail, “The

very existence of internal research on tough and complex issues is being recast as an
example that Facebook isn’t living up to its responsibilities. Therefore, US Senator Amy
Klobuchar, Democrat from Minnesota argued “When they allowed 99% of violent
content to remain to their platform including the lead-up to the January 6 insurrection,
what did they do? Now we know Mark Zuckerberg was going on sailing”.

I argue that it will help if the Congress takes on action regarding this issue to
stablish a strong policy/policies in the internet. Not many restrictions on creatively
expressing oneself, easy way to share information, informal support of other’s work,
general understanding and respect of other people’s forms of expression on alternative
way of socializing. (Chau, 2010)