Instagram recommends reels (vertical videos) with sexual content even for teenagers aged 13. This was revealed by a test carried out by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and Professor Laura Edelson, from Northeastern University.
In a report released yesterday by WSJ, the vehicle explains that the tests were carried out between January and April 2024, and redone in June, with no difference in results. To verify the hypothesis, fake profiles were created pretending to be 13-year-old teenagers and from the beginning, Instagram began showing Reels with moderately spicy content.
Among the videos were productions of women doing sensual dances or those that focus on female bodies. Fake accounts that watched videos of this type and skipped others began to receive even more explicit recommendations, according to the WSJ.
20 minutes watching spicy videos is enough to fill the Reels page with sexual videos, according to WJS. (Image: Orbon Alija/Getty Images)
The algorithm would have worked incessantly to present sexual material to the fake profiles. Among the recommendations, there were also women simulating sexual acts, promises to send “nudes” to anyone who commented and people showing off their genitals. In one specific case, the platform’s feed displayed several videos about anal sex.
O WSJ and Professor Edelson even did the same experiment on TikTok and Snapchat. These social networks never recommended inappropriate content during testing. Not even profiles that followed adult content creators received this type of recommendation on the platforms.
What did Instagram say?
Despite the tests being carried out by a renowned newspaper and a university professor, Andy Stone, a spokesperson for Instagram, ignored the report.
“This was an artificial experiment that does not correspond to the reality of how teenagers use our platform,” said the executive. He also added that, in recent months, the social network has made significant improvements in this regard.
Old research among Meta employees already found that teenagers are bombarded with sexual material. (Image: Getty Images)Fonte: GettyImages
O WSJ said that, in the past, Meta’s internal research had already identified problems regarding harmful experiences when using Instagram by teenagers. The company’s tests revealed very similar results.
The newspaper also carried out a similar test before, leading Meta to announce, in January, a series of measures to overcome the problem. The new experiment was carried out after these measures, proving that they did not have the effect desired by the company.
Source: https://www.tecmundo.com.br/redes-sociais/286204-instagram-recomenda-reels-sexuais-criancas-diz-jornal.htm
