Facebook Caught Targeting Emotionally Vulnerable Teens

FACEBOOK
IS UNDER FIRE AGAIN, THIS TIME BECAUSE OF A LEAK TO DOCUMENT
FROM TWO FACEBOOK EXECS IN
AUSTRALIA TO THE IDENTIFIED SAD AND INSECURE TEENS IN THE
COUNTRY AND GAVE INFORMATION THAT COULD POTENTIALLY ALLOW
ADVERTISERS TO TARGET THESE TEENS WHEN THEY ARE AT THEIR
MOST VULNERABLE.
IT DOESN'T TOTALLY ADDRESS THE WHOLE
ADVERTISEMENT ISSUE HERE.
THEY MIGHT BE IN THE CLEAR IN TERMS
OF THEIR TERMS OF USE.
I WANT TO HEAR WHAT YOU GUYS THINK ABOUT
IT.
>> MAYBE IT IS JUST THE AUSSIES PARENTS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW
TO DEAL WITH TEENAGERS.
WHEN I WAS A TEENAGER ALL THOSE WORDS
WERE JUST A FRIDAY NIGHT.
>>THAT IS TEENAGEHOOD.
>> ARE WE REALLY SURPRISED THEY ARE GOING TO TRY TO FIND WAYS TO
MARKET TO SPECIFIC FEELING OR MOOD?
ON FACEBOOK YOU CAN
LITERALLY RIGHT TO THAT YOU ARE FEELING ANXIOUS OR STRESSED OR
WHATEVER.
YOU SCHOOL THROUGH YOUR FACEBOOK AND YOU MIGHT BE
THINKING THAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT ALL MUSIC SITES, AND THEN ALL OF
A SUDDEN HEADPHONE POPS UP AN AD.
>>WHICH IS FINE IF IT IS HEADPHONES.
BUT IF I TALK ABOUT
HOW I FEEL EMOTIONALLY VULNERABLE BECAUSE I'M HAVING
BODY IMAGE ISSUES.
AND THEN IT'S LIKE YOU DO NEED TO LOSE WEIGHT,
WEIGHT WATCHERS.
THAT IS SHITTY.
>>THIS IS NOT BEING USED YET BUT I THINK THAT IS A CONCERN PEOPLE
HAVE.
FACEBOOK DECIDED TO DO AN
EXPERIMENT AND THEY SHOWED DIFFERENT STATUSES FOR PEOPLE.
SOME ARE POSITIVE, SOME WERE NEGATIVE.
AND THEY WANTED TO SEE
IF IT WOULD CHANGE PEOPLE'S MOODS BASED ON THE WAY THEY
INTERACTED WITH PEOPLE'S MOODS, AND THEY FOUND THAT IT DOES.
IF
THEY ARE ABLE TO DISCERN HOW YOU ARE FEELING AND AFFECT OTHER
PEOPLE, THAT IS FRIGHTENING.
>> THAT IS THE PROOF FACEBOOK, BUT IT IS MESSED UP.
YOU HAVE
PROVEN YOU CAN CHANGE THE WAY
PEOPLE ARE FEELING NOW.
THEY ARE RUNNING EXPERIMENTS.
IT IS A
VERY SILICON VALLEY TRIAL AND
ERROR THING.
BUT THIS IS REAL PEOPLE.
IN THE MEANTIME REAL
PEOPLE'S LIVES ARE BEING
AFFECTED.
THE SOLUTION NEEDS TO, IF THIS IS ANY EVIDENCE BE
HANDLED WITH MORE REVERENCE FOR
EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE DOING.
YOU ARE NOT JUST THROWING SPAGHETTI
AGAINST THE WALL.
>>BUT THEY ARE NOT JUST LETTING THE MARKET PARSE OUT.
>>READ NEW YORK MAGAZINE.
>>BUT THESE ARE ACTUALLY GOING IN AND FIGURING OUT HOW THESE
PEOPLE FEEL AND FIGURING OUT IF THEY CAN MANIPULATE PEOPLE'S
EMOTIONS.
I THINK THAT IS A REAL GREAT POINT.
THESE ARE REAL
HUMANS.
THINK ABOUT WHEN YOU ARE 14 ñ
>>I WOULD PREFER NOT TO TALK
>>ñ TO REMEMBER HOW IMPRESSIONABLE YOU ARE AND TO
SEE THIS SORT OF THING.
>> I DON'T THINK IT IS AS FAR-FETCHED.
OF COURSE IF YOU
ARE ON FACEBOOK AND YOU GO
THROUGH ñ HOW MANY TIMES YOU GO ON SOCIAL MEDIA TO EITHER FEEL
BETTER OR WORSE?
>>I FEEL WORSE CONSISTENTLY.
>> HOW MANY TIMES YOU WAKE UP IN A GREAT MOOD AND SCROLL THROUGH
TWITTER.
IF YOU START TO UTILIZE THAT FOR ADVERTISING GAIN AND
PEOPLE START TO MONITOR HOW YOU ARE FEELING AND REACTING TO
ENTER TO ADVERTISE TO YOU, THAT
IS WHEN IT BECOMES SHADY.
IF YOU START TO READ MORE NEGATIVE
FEEDS, MORE OFTEN THAN NOT YOUR MOOD WILL BE SWUNG WITH WHAT
OTHER PEOPLE ARE DOING.
IF YOUNG MINDS ARE FEELING DOWN IN THE
DUMPS ARE BEING LURED INTO CERTAIN AREAS THAT THEY
SHOULDN'T BE LOOKING AT.
>>THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT STUDIES THAT SHOW HOW SOCIAL
MEDIA ALWAYS MAKES YOU FEEL WORSE.
YOU ARE ONLY SEEING
PEOPLE'S HIGHLIGHT REEL.
MORE OFTEN THAN NOT IT IS POSITIVE
THINGS.
SO ALREADY IT IS MAKING
YOU FEEL LIKE SHIT.
>>I WILL SAY TO THEIR BENEFIT, I'M SURE THESE WORDS DEFEATED,
OVERWHELMED, SILLY, AND A FAILURE, THOSE ARE THE NEGATIVE
WORDS IN THE LIST OF THINGS THEY ARE TRYING TO DO.
I'M SURE THEY
ARE JUST TRYING TO FIND OUT AND
I GET THAT INSTINCT.
IF YOU ARE STUDYING SOMETHING THAT IS ONE
THING, BUT TO FACEBOOK'S CREDIT OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST FEW
MONTHS THEY HAVE EVOLVED A LOT.
IT IS THE COVER STORY IN THE NEW
YORK TIMES THIS WEEKEND.OVER 1 BILLION PEOPLE USE IT EVERY DAY
AND IT IS JUST NOT GOOD ENOUGH
YET. IS THAT FEELING THAT THEY CAN EVENTUALLY SOLVE IT THAT IN
THE MEANTIME THEY END UP NEGLECTING PORTIONS OF THE
POPULATION.
IT IS A SAD STORY.
>> I THINK YOU ARE RIGHT AND THAT IS THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM.
I THINK SOMETIMES IT IS FORGOTTEN THAT THESE ARE PEOPLE.
>>I HONESTLY DON'T THINK THERE IS A NEFARIOUS APPROACH TO IT.
I
THINK THEY ARE VERY FASCINATED
WITH THIS ONLY THINK IT IS GREAT.
THE INTENT OF THE
NEWSFEED WAS TO HAVE THE STUFF YOU ARE SHARING SHARED MORE
EFFICIENTLY.
FACEBOOK ALSO ALLOWS YOU TO SHARE THINGS WITH
YOUR CLOSEST FRIENDS IN CONFIDENCE.
IMAGINE IF IT WASN'T
ONLINE?
THEY GIVE YOU THE OPTION TO MAKE IT
FEEL
LIKE
IT
IS
THE
THREE OF US AT A TABLE TALKING.
IMAGINE WE WERE IN THIS GROUP
AND SOMEONE POPS UP FROM UNDER HERE AND JUST GOES HEY, YOU GUYS
FEELING SAD?
HOW ABOUT SOME
XANAX?
IT IS GOOD, THEY HAVE TRIED TO USE THAT IN A POSITIVE
WAY BECAUSE THEY HAVE GIVEN PEOPLE ACCESS TO THE SUICIDE
HOTLINE'S.
>> YES.
>> HOW MANY TIMES DO TROUBLING PEOPLE OUT THERE LOOK AT SITES
TO TRY AND FIND SOME REFUGE.
HOW MANY TIMES HAVE WE SEEN PEOPLE
THAT COMMIT ATROCITIES?
AGAIN IT IS
A VERY THIN LINE.
YOU DON'T
WANT TO INVADE PEOPLE'S PRIVACY BUT I UNDERSTAND HOW THEY ARE
TRYING TO GET IT.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUTUBE IS TALKING ABOUT
WHERE FACEBOOK IS A POSITIVE ENVIRONMENT FOR PEOPLE TO SHARE.
THE LAST TWO YEARS I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYONE SHARE UPLIFTING
PICTURES THAT IT IS MORE RANTS,
POLITICAL RANTS.
INSTAGRAM IS WHERE YOU SHARE THE HIGHLIGHTS
OF YOUR LIFE.
>> FACEBOOK IT IS STUFF YOU
AGREE WITH, AND STUFF THAT
EVERYONE IS SAYING THAT YOU LIKE DISAGREES WITH INTENSELY.
AND
THEN US TALKING ABOUT HOW YOU
CAN BE MAD AND IT IS OKAY.

Facebook Caught Targeting Emotionally Vulnerable Teens

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