Meta Platforms (META) has been studying how Instagram affects teenage users and found that some of its youngest audiences see more harmful content than others. According to a Reuters report, internal research at Meta showed that teens who often felt bad about their bodies saw nearly three times more “eating disorder adjacent” posts than their peers.
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The study included 1,149 teens during the 2023–2024 school year. About 223 said Instagram often made them feel worse about how they look. For those users, about 10.5% of what appeared on their feeds involved body-focused content. By comparison, other teens saw about 3.3% of such posts.
In the meantime, META shares rose a modest 0.68%, closing at $716.92.
Sensitive and Hard-to-Detect Content
The research also found that these same teens saw more mature and provocative material overall. This included posts that Meta marks as “risky behavior” or “suffering.” In total, 27% of their feeds contained such content, versus 13.6% for others. Meta’s safety systems failed to detect most of this content. The company said its current filters miss about 98.5% of the posts that might be inappropriate for teens. Meta added that this is partly because the tools were built to catch clear rule violations, not subtle but sensitive material.
Meta’s Response and Industry Pressure
A Meta spokesperson told Reuters that the company uses research like this to make its products safer. Meta has also said it now aims to align teen content with PG-13 standards and has reduced age-restricted content shown to minors by half since July 2025.
Still, the company faces lawsuits and investigations in the U.S. over the impact of its platforms on children. Some cases claim Meta’s products were designed in ways that can harm young users’ well-being. Researchers who reviewed the study said the findings suggest Instagram’s algorithm may be showing more harmful content to teens who are already vulnerable. Experts continue to urge Meta to limit how much of this content reaches younger audiences.
While the report stops short of saying Instagram causes body image problems, it adds to ongoing questions about how social media algorithms affect mental health, and how companies can make those systems safer.
What Is the Price Target for Meta Stock?
On the Street, Meta continues to hold the analysts’ backing with a Strong Buy consensus rating. The average META stock price target is $877.91, implying a 22.46% upside from the current price.
