{"id":131212,"date":"2019-03-15T04:44:47","date_gmt":"2019-03-15T04:44:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sftarticles.wpenginepowered.com\/en\/?p=131212"},"modified":"2025-07-01T22:13:34","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T05:13:34","slug":"instagram-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/instagram-mental-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Instagram wrestles with mental health concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"phone<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, Instagram announced they\u2019d be cracking down on self-harm imagery. Or rather, they\u2019ve doubled down on the sensitive content filters implemented in 2017.<\/p>\n

The filters, or \u201csensitivity screens,\u201d blur out content related to suicide or self-harm<\/strong> and users can tap the screen to view the image. The idea was to reduce the likelihood of stumbling upon unwanted or harmful content.<\/p>\n

Since then, Instagram has been dubbed the worst social media platform <\/a>for mental health, particularly among young people.<\/p>\n

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Social media worse for mental health than we thought<\/p>\r\n Read Now \u25ba<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n

From body dysmorphia to eating disorders, self-harm, and low self-esteem \u2014 the platform is an undeniable minefield for all kinds of mental health issues.<\/p>\n

The initial filters didn\u2019t ban images of cutting or other forms of self-harm, as Instagram didn\u2019t want to ban posts from those who were struggling.<\/p>\n

While most of the dialog surrounding social media and mental health has focused on things like FOMO and body image issues, the conversation has shifted toward what content should be banned in an effort to protect vulnerable users.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a little more about Instagram\u2019s push toward a healthier platform–and why.<\/p>\n

Why is Instagram increasing controls on sensitive content?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The decision to ramp up controls over self-harm posts came two years after 14-year-old Molly Russell <\/a>took her own life. Molly’s parents believe that content found on Pinterest and Instagram may have played a role in her death.\u00a0 Her father, Ian Russell has been vocal about the failure of social media companies to protect their young users.<\/p>\n

In the wake of the tragedy, UK health secretary Matt Hancock warned Facebook (who, of course, owns Instagram) that he would take legal action to protect young people from harmful content. In a letter to \u201csocial media bosses,\u201d Hancock said<\/a>\u00a0it is appalling how easily young people can access content that \u201cleads to self-harm and suicide.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, responded by announcing that they would roll out sensitivity screens blocking images that depict self-harm.<\/p>\n

\"self-harm<\/p>\n

\u201cWe still allow people to share that they are struggling,\u201d Mosseri stated. The app\u2019s policy only bans images that \u201cglorify\u201d self-harm.<\/strong> The platform does hide posts that reference self-harm or post non-graphic depictions.<\/p>\n

As it stands, the app does ban promoting content that relates to self-harm or suicide. However, they\u2019ve struggled to gain control over the content the algorithm recommends \u2014 allowing graphic imagery to pass through the filters anyway.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Instagram\u2019s algorithm is set up so users receive personalized recommendations based on past activity. So, despite Instagram\u2019s efforts, the platform guides users seeking self-harm content toward other posts\/accounts that align with their “interests.”<\/p>\n

Mosseri admits in an op-ed<\/a> that the platform hasn\u2019t done enough to keep these images out of feeds. While the 2017 effort was a step in the right direction, this latest move involves allocating more resources to fighting back \u2014 content moderators and engineers.<\/p>\n

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Social media adds 24\/7 emotional burdens<\/p>\r\n Read Now \u25ba<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n

Is it Instagram\u2019s responsibility to ban sensitive content?<\/h2>\n

\"Instagram<\/p>\n

Early reports of the tool in action show Instagram did censor certain hashtags \u2014 obvious ones like #selfharm or #selfinjury came with the sensitive content label<\/a>, but the issue was, users could just add new hashtags and circumvent the filters.<\/p>\n

Like some of the biased algorithms we’ve seen in the news recently \u2014 problems aren\u2019t evident until something bad happens.<\/strong> A tool isn\u2019t programmed to have racist inclinations or built-in gender bias, but once it\u2019s out in the wild, dealing with real people, it doesn’t have the “training” to\u00a0respond appropriately to every situation.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s troubling that the platform has been recommending sensitive content to a vulnerable audience. But it\u2019s unclear if Instagram\u2019s ban will extend to accounts that raise awareness for mental health issues or speak out about their experience with depression.<\/p>\n

As we\u2019ve seen with Facebook\u2019s crackdown on fake news and political ads, many accounts may find themselves subject to penalty. But, it\u2019s certainly a step in the right direction.<\/p>\n

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Can your Instagram posts reveal depression?<\/p>\r\n Read now \u25ba<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n

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Top 7 mental health YouTubers<\/p>\r\n Read Now \u25ba<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Can Instagram allow free expression without encouraging self-harm?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9161,"featured_media":132643,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":0},"categories":[1015],"tags":[2354,1051,1748],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-131212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-app-subdomain-redirectioninstagram","tag-instagram","tag-mental-health"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9161"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131212"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":326415,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131212\/revisions\/326415"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/132643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131212"},{"taxonomy":"usertag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/usertag?post=131212"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=131212"},{"taxonomy":"content-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-category?post=131212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}