WE all know Twitter is a cesspool of humanity: a microcosm of tragic little trolls who sit behind their grease-stained keyboards bashing grammatically bogus bile.
And we all know Facebook and Instagram are Twitter’s cuddly little cousins: sweet, safe spaces to share. holiday slap and tell your aunt how cute her new dog is.
One in three girls has suffered from some form of body dysmorphia, a result reportedCredit: Alamy
Except it turns out they’re not that nice and cuddly after all.
The Wall Street Journal published a series of damning “Facebook files” exposing the hypocrisy at the heart of the global mega-currency giant.
One of the most terrifying findings from several internal reports, focus groups, and diary studies is that Instagram, Facebook’s photo-sharing affiliate, is responsible for “increased anxiety and depression.” ” for young people.
One in three girls has experienced some form of body dysmorphia, a result said.
Eating disorders, self-harm and in some cases suicide are the end result.
On the knowledgeable one-inch scroll, impressionable maidens can see photos of other young women, ribs protruding, starving themselves for “likes.”
The government’s online security bill is moving like a lazy man through Parliament.
But in reality, only the bosses of these companies have the means and the clout to make changes.
And with the company recently valued at an incomprehensible trillion pounds, it’s clear that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his colleagues aren’t really looking to choke on their cash cow.
The Wall Street Journal (part of News Corp, which owns The Sun) showed that the company had authorized large-scale surveys of tens of thousands of people this year, linking user responses to Facebook’s own data. .
Last October, during a speech to U.S. lawmakers, former Facebook chief Tim Kendall admitted that the company is making its product as addictive as cigarettes.
I may not have been in the 60s. . but I watched Mad Men.
Medical researchers and doctors have warned tobacco advertisers of the dangers of smoking, begging cigarette companies to stop targeting young people and celebrities.
Instagram may not give young women lung cancer, but it can kill.
The number of children hospitalized with mental health problems has jumped 50% since the start of the pandemic.
How many of these young people would have spent hours staring at pictures of unbelievably thin celebrities or empty, equally thin “influencers”?
Instagram may not give young women lung cancer, but it can kill
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Almost all of these Insta stars are heavily airbrushed.
Almost all of them use ridiculous filters. And almost all of them have some sort of cosmetic filler, Botox, or semi-permanent makeup “aid”.
Yet despite these incriminating leaks, Facebook bosses have their heads deep in the sand.
Six months ago, Zuckerberg – who is personally worth nearly £ 100bn – said: ‘The research we’ve seen is that using social apps to connect with other people can have effects. positive on mental health.
And former Deputy Prime Minister turned Silicon Valley statesman Nick Clegg – Facebook’s vice president of global affairs – had the nerve to lash out at reporters who revealed internal research rather than to face the real problem.
No matter how much we pretend otherwise, we are ALL sucked into the cult of Instagram
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Nick should know better. He is, after all, married to Miriam Gonzalez Durantez, a strident feminist who created the Inspiring Girls charity.
Obviously, I’m way too old to spend hours nailing my duck pout or downloading special filters to make me look 14 and skinny.
But also, I will not knowingly post a photo that I know I look like a wren.
No matter how much we pretend otherwise, we are ALL sucked into the cult of Instagram.
More needs to be done to help prevent ourselves from living through such a (heavily filtered) lens.
CRUEL? COOKING
FREYA COX, the first vegan contestant to appear in The Great British Bake Off, has been trolled because she has a horse called Winnie.
The 19-year-old pastry chef was forced to delete a Facebook page dedicated to her equestrian exploits because – apparently – anyone who rides a horse is evil.
It would be fair enough if Freya, in a locket, made Winnie fat in order to tuck her in on Christmas Day.
But it is not. Just let the poor girl (and her dairy-free spread) bake.
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A LOT of what celebrities do is boring, unnecessary, or selfish.
But kudos to Julia Bradbury for speaking so movingly about her breast cancer diagnosis and her upcoming mastectomy.
When stars use their notoriety to do things like that, to raise awareness, they help save lives.
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ARE WE TABOO?
DESPITE her last name, you’d think Dr Victoria Male could be a bit more pro-women.
But her interview with Martha Kearney on Radio 4’s Today program made listening painful.
On ten occasions, Dr Male – an expert in reproductive immunology at Imperial College London – declined to use the term “women” to discuss the effects of Covid injections on menstruation.
That’s TEN times in a 170-second interview.
She even mentioned “people” who “are thinking about becoming pregnant.” I don’t know if it’s political correctness gone crazy. . . or just madness.
HANNAH IS TED AND SHOULDERS ON REST
I spoke of the magnificence of Ted Lasso to whoever wants to hear it.
The Apple TV + series is a joy from start to finish. (And you can gorge yourself on it with a seven-day free trial of the streaming service.)
Set around the fictional Premier League formation AFC Richmond, it’s filmed just down the street from where I live.
But I digress.
–Sunday night, she won her first Emmy Award, for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.Credit: Getty
The star of the show – and my new crush – is Hannah Waddingham, right, a 47-year-old Briton who plays club owner Rebecca Welton.
Although little known here, Stateside Hannah has become a household name due to her performance on the series.
And Sunday night, she won her first Emmy Award, for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
I suggest you give it – and Ted – a try.
TA-RA TO CLASSIC BRITISH KITCHEN?
CLASSIC dishes like Toad in the Hole and Speckled Cock may soon be making history, with almost half of Millennials never having heard of them.
When I was little, my dad called frozen buns “sticky scarves”.
It has become a strong family tradition that one afternoon a week he came home from work with three sticky weeds for himself, mom and myself.
Until last week, this is what I assumed everyone called the delicious baked treat.
Apparently not.
An impromptu hangover visit to my local Gail’s bakery and an innocent request for a “sticky fat guy, please” were – understandably, in hindsight – met with a look of abject horror.
Quickly followed by: “No. “
Bravo, dad.
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DENISE IS WELL AHEAD
TWENTY-FOUR percent of us drink more than the Chief Physician’s low-risk alcohol drinking guidelines – and 27 percent of us drink more than ever.
If the government is serious about helping us cut back, it should consider putting these grim cigarette pack-type warnings on the bottles.
Another option could be to use before and after photos of Denise Welch, like the snap she recently tweeted.
–In the fight against binge drinking, one option could be to use before and after photos of Denise Welch like the snap she recently tweeted.
The actress hasn’t drunk for nine years and has never felt so good or so beautiful.
I was friends with Denise before and after alcohol.
She’s one of those irritating people who is invariably the funniest person in the room, even as sober as a stone.
She is an inspiration to all of us.
REWARD THE HEROES
Hours after finding out that his beloved mother Charlotte had passed away, Boris Johnson dusted off his costume and courageously presented an award to The Sun’s brilliant Who Cares Wins Awards.
On Sunday night, actress Olivia Colman graciously accepted her Emmy and paid tribute to her father who, it turns out, passed away earlier this year.
–Hours after finding out that his beloved mother Charlotte had passed away, Boris Johnson presented an award to The Sun’s brilliant Who Cares Wins Awards.
They both exemplified Britain’s stiff upper lip, while Boris’ heartbreaking stoicism, in particular, is astonishing.
Such old-fashioned resilience must have therapists across the country spinning in their couches.
BANANA-DRAME
OF all the glowing statistics, facts and tributes circulating about Spurs legend Jimmy Greaves, the best line I have seen among the obituaries was without a doubt this one: “Jimmy was 13 years old before he saw a banana. “
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Facebook launches CAMERA glasses that film everything you see
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