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Confronting The Hypocrisy Of Advertising On Instagram And Facebook
- by Barry Lowenthal , Op-Ed Contributor, September 22, 2021
I was saddened (but I can’t say surprised) to read in The Wall Street Journal the recent stats about Instagram’s impact on teens: 32% of teen girls said they felt bad about their bodies and that Instagram made them feel worse.
Teens blame Instagram for increased anxiety and depression. Among …
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Agree, Barry! And I bet that these feelings expand way beyond the teen years, into all age groups.
Another solution might be leading efforts to unify agencies and their clients to drive change in the platforms' practices, along the lines of the Stop Hate for Profit campaign. It's challenging since so many of the social media platforms' advertisers are small businesses. But large brands have leverage in the court of public opinion.
The other featured article on MediaPost today is, "Why Political Activism May Be the New Brand Purpose". Agencies can engage in activism, too, and bring along their clients' brands. Facebook and Instagram and others get 98% of revenue from advertising - it's where the leverage is. Use it.