Facebook has struck back against scientific researchers and tech industry insiders who have criticized the world’s biggest social media network and its competitors for transforming how people behave and express emotion.
Facebook, in a corporate blog post, said that social media can be good for people’s well-being if they use the technology in a way that is active, such as messaging with friends, rather than passive, such as scrolling through a feed of other people’s posts.
It said ‘our research and other academic literature suggests that it’s about how you use social media that matters when it comes to your well-being.’
Facebook said that social media can be good for people’s well-being if they use the technology in a way that is active, such as messaging with friends, rather than using it passively.
In its blog post, Facebook acknowledged what it called ‘compelling research’ on the negative effects of social media and cited two such academic studies.
The company said, though, that those studies are ‘not the whole story.’
It went on to cite other studies suggesting that the dangers of social media may be exaggerated, and that it has potential benefits if used correctly.
‘We employ social psychologists, social scientists and sociologists, and we collaborate with top scholars to better understand well-being and work to make Facebook a place that contributes in a positive way,’ said the blog post, written by Facebook Research Director David Ginsberg and Research Scientist Moira Burke.
‘According to the research, it really comes down to how you use the technology.
‘For example, on social media, you can passively scroll through posts, much like watching TV, or actively interact with friends – messaging and commenting on each other’s posts.
‘Just like in person, interacting with people you care about can be beneficial, while simply watching others from the sidelines may make you feel worse.’
A former Facebook executive has spoken out against the social network he helped to create, saying it is ‘ripping society apart’. The comments were made by Chamath Palihapitiya, who joined Facebook in 2007 and became its vice president for user growth
It was the second time this week that Facebook had published such a rebuttal, signaling a new willingness to defend a business model that translates users’ attention into advertising revenue.
On Tuesday, the company released a statement saying that former executive Chamath Palihapitiya, who at a conference publicly blamed Facebook for ‘destroying how society works,’ had been gone for six years and was unfamiliar with the company’s recent efforts to improve.
Palihapitiya on Thursday revised his view, writing in a Facebook post that the service ‘is a force for good in the world.’
Online services such as Facebook and its Instagram unit, Twitter Inc, Snap Inc’s Snapchat and Alphabet Inc’s YouTube are under attack for their seemingly addictive nature and perceived promotion of anti-social behaviors.
A study in March by U.S. researchers found that using such services at least two hours daily was correlated with reporting feelings of social isolation.
A nonprofit organization called Time Well Spent, led by a former Google design ethicist, is pressuring tech companies to move away from products that try to hook people’s attention.
A Facebook representative declined to comment beyond the blog post.
Facebook is spending $1 million on research into the relationship among technology, youth development and well-being, the blog post said.