Instagram on Trial, ChatGPT Ads, and a "GREENLIGHT" Special

Last month Meta released a public rebuttal to a current lawsuit alleging the company’s social media products have “harmed teens and that Meta has prioritized growth over their well-being.” They list safety and security measures over the years along with a report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) that highlights the benefits of social media.

• 🎙️ It’s true that Meta has in recent years taken significant positive steps toward protecting adolescents on their platforms (primarily Instagram), but keep in mind much of it is reactionary steps to public mistakes and legislative pressure. Meta also cherry picks from the NASEM report on the complex links between social media and teens’ mental health. While the cited report does highlight benefits, it also suggests “some features of social media function can harm some young people’s mental health.”

Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, recently testified in the same lawsuit mentioned above saying, “I think it’s important to differentiate between clinical addiction and problematic use.”

• 🎙️ Meta’s defense is similar to the porn industry’s legal argument saying that pornography addiction is not real.

If you’re not sure how to talk with your family about AI, gaming, social media, and pornography, let us bring it up for you! Driver’s Training for the Online World is your video-driven on-ramp for family discussion about all things online.

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Earlier this month OpenAI announced ads were coming to ChapGPT emphasizing that “ads do not influence the answers ChatGPT gives you.”

• 🎙️ ChatGPT ads were inevitable. OpenAI followed the same playbook as social media, moving fast to capture significant market share and then incorporating ads. Revisit last year’s post on OpenAI and Studio Ghibli.

Spain and the United Kingdom joined a growing list of countries attempting to follow Australia’s move to ban anyone under 16 from using social media.

• 🎙️ As we’ve said before, these laws seemingly have good intentions, but they give social media platforms no incentive to change their business model, improve safety for younger users, or make it a better experience for adults. It just kicks the can down the road which highlights again why Driver’s Training for the Online World is so unique and necessary especially for pre-teens and teens.