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Are Instagram engineers partly responsible for depression among teens?

abduhl 6y ago
Yes. Even more than McKinsey is responsible for the opioid crisis. Instagram built the evil product, McKinsey just told someone how to better weaponize an already evil product.
mola 6y ago
Yes. They have a choice, they are privileged enough to be able to choose where they work. If they choose to prefer more money over not making more teens depressed. (If that's a thing, I have no idea), then they are responsible. Generally, most of us in software can choose where to work. If we don't make this choice according to morals (whatever they may be) then we are less moral than ppl who don't have a choice, and those who have a choice and do consider it. Is that a bad thing? Depending on which morality you subscribe to I guess....
Frondo 6y ago
The Facebook engineers who tweaked the news feed to change the ratio of positive to negative news absolutely are partly responsible for that. Remember this one? https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/technology/facebook-tinkers-with-users-emotions-in-news-feed-experiment-stirring-outcry.html https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/technology/facebook-tinke... > In an academic paper published in conjunction with two university researchers, the company reported that, for one week in January 2012, it had altered the number of positive and negative posts in the news feeds of 689,003 randomly selected users to see what effect the changes had on the tone of the posts the recipients then wrote. > The researchers found that moods were contagious. The people who saw more positive posts responded by writing more positive posts. Similarly, seeing more negative content prompted the viewers to be more negative in their own posts.
- caddemon 6y ago
  I will add they did this experiment partially in response to an academic study that found viewing happier posts on Facebook made people sadder (explained mostly by FOMO). FB was trying to refute that, and their study was more technically rigorous, but the outcome they were measuring doesn't actually refute the original claim at all IMO. People writing more happy posts on FB does not indicate they are actually happier, it could also be that they wish to broadcast more of their happy moments, or perhaps even just pretend to be happier, in response to the attitude of their feed.
glitchc 6y ago
Not just partially, but fully. Until then, it's just an idea, and like most ideas, isn't worth much. Implementation is everything*. *Not everything, which is a tad extreme, but certainly 95%+. But sometimes shocking statements are needed to jolt people into the reality that their work has positive/negative repercussions in the real world. We hold an arms manufacturer responsible for designing weapons of mass destruction, there's no doubt in anyone's mind that there is culpability. Engineers who build addictive products fall into the same boat. But, but, but paycheque! is not an excuse. Has never been before, isn't now, nor will it ever be in the future. As builders, we are defined by what we build.
Maarten88 6y ago
Asking the question is answering it.

Yes. Even more than McKinsey is responsible for the opioid crisis. Instagram built the evil product, McKinsey just told someone how to better weaponize an already evil product.

mola 6y ago

Yes. They have a choice, they are privileged enough to be able to choose where they work. If they choose to prefer more money over not making more teens depressed. (If that's a thing, I have no idea), then they are responsible. Generally, most of us in software can choose where to work. If we don't make this choice according to morals (whatever they may be) then we are less moral than ppl who don't have a choice, and those who have a choice and do consider it. Is that a bad thing? Depending on which morality you subscribe to I guess....

Frondo 6y ago

The Facebook engineers who tweaked the news feed to change the ratio of positive to negative news absolutely are partly responsible for that. Remember this one? https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/technology/facebook-tinkers-with-users-emotions-in-news-feed-experiment-stirring-outcry.html https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/technology/facebook-tinke... > In an academic paper published in conjunction with two university researchers, the company reported that, for one week in January 2012, it had altered the number of positive and negative posts in the news feeds of 689,003 randomly selected users to see what effect the changes had on the tone of the posts the recipients then wrote. > The researchers found that moods were contagious. The people who saw more positive posts responded by writing more positive posts. Similarly, seeing more negative content prompted the viewers to be more negative in their own posts.

caddemon 6y ago
I will add they did this experiment partially in response to an academic study that found viewing happier posts on Facebook made people sadder (explained mostly by FOMO). FB was trying to refute that, and their study was more technically rigorous, but the outcome they were measuring doesn't actually refute the original claim at all IMO. People writing more happy posts on FB does not indicate they are actually happier, it could also be that they wish to broadcast more of their happy moments, or perhaps even just pretend to be happier, in response to the attitude of their feed.

glitchc 6y ago

Not just partially, but fully. Until then, it's just an idea, and like most ideas, isn't worth much. Implementation is everything*. *Not everything, which is a tad extreme, but certainly 95%+. But sometimes shocking statements are needed to jolt people into the reality that their work has positive/negative repercussions in the real world. We hold an arms manufacturer responsible for designing weapons of mass destruction, there's no doubt in anyone's mind that there is culpability. Engineers who build addictive products fall into the same boat. But, but, but paycheque! is not an excuse. Has never been before, isn't now, nor will it ever be in the future. As builders, we are defined by what we build.

Maarten88 6y ago

Asking the question is answering it.