Alphabet’s Google and DeepMind Join Forces to Chase OpenAIRead Now

Illustration by Danielle Davis

Instagram Isn’t the Only Social Media That’s Hurting Girls

By  |  Oct. 8, 2021 9:00 AM PDT
Photo: Illustration by Danielle Davis

“This research is the definition of a bombshell,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal at the Congressional hearing Tuesday, during which Frances Haugen, the Facebook whistleblower, testified about the tech company’s suppression of internal studies showing the harmful effects of its products on the mental health of kids, especially girls.

Seriously, where has he been?

Researchers and journalists like me have been reporting on the alarming effects of social media on kids for years, and at this point there’s little excuse for anyone—including people who work in the tech industry, politicians and parents—to claim ignorance when it comes to the dangers. The many types of harm coming to kids on Facebook and Instagram aren’t just a problem of these sites either. They also come from Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Tinder (where, yes, kids sign up using fake accounts) and countless others.

Get access to exclusive coverage
Read deeply reported stories from the largest newsroom in tech.
Latest Articles
 
The Big Read ai
Search Has Its Goliath. Could Richard Socher Be Its David?
Photography by Katie Thompson
On a rare rain-free afternoon this spring, Richard Socher stood atop a hill, surveying the direction of the wind. The wind often interests Socher, the 38-year-old co-founder and CEO of search engine You.com, because in his spare time he likes to fly around on a paramotor, a parachute-like contraption supported by a backpack propeller. We were standing at one of his launch spots, a short hike...
Latest Briefs
 
Fidelity Marks Down Twitter Stake Another 7.9%
Coinbase Hires Former Shopify Executive as Country Director
Circle’s USDC Outflows Exceed $10 Billion Since Crypto Bank Crisis
Stay in the know
Receive a summary of the day's top tech news—distilled into one email.
Access on the go
View stories on our mobile app and tune into our weekly podcast.
Join live video Q&A’s
Deep-dive into topics like startups and autonomous vehicles with our top reporters and other executives.
Enjoy a clutter-free experience
Read without any banner ads.
From left, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis and Google Brain chief Jeff Dean. Photos by Getty, Bloomberg
Exclusive google ai
Alphabet’s Google and DeepMind Pause Grudges, Join Forces to Chase OpenAI
OpenAI’s success in overtaking Google with an artificial intelligence–powered chatbot has achieved what seemed impossible in the past: It has forced the two AI research teams within Google’s parent, Alphabet, to overcome years of intense rivalry to work together.
Art by Clark Miller.
Opinion startups
Don’t Build the Wrong Kind of AI Business
At a catch-up coffee a few weeks ago, a founder friend asked me, “What AI thing should we build?” It was the third time that week a founder had asked me the same question.
Block chairman and co founder Jack Dorsey. Photo by Getty
markets
Fintech’s Big Wakeup Call
Fintechs were supposed to transform banking by making it dead simple for users to open savings accounts or pay their bills.
Art by Clark Miller.
Market Research e-commerce culture
The Skin-Tech Devices Helping Execs Beautify in a Hurry
I’m always 29 at heart,” said Liyia Wu, CEO of ShopShops, a livestream shopping app for fashion, beauty and lifestyle products.
Art by Clark Miller.
Caffeinated Capitalists venture capital
Venture Capital’s 25 Favorite Cafes
Coupa Cafe in Palo Alto. Buck’s of Woodside. The Creamery in SoMa (RIP). Silicon Valley’s coffee shops have undoubtedly seen more dealmaking than any one fancy office building or members’ club.
Art by Clark Miller
Surreal Estate real estate
Silicon Valley’s Realtors, Like Its Bankers, Are Having a Tough Month
In early March, Ken DeLeon, founder of DeLeon Realty, a Silicon Valley–based brokerage that sold more than $1 billion in homes in 2021, called one of his venture capitalist clients to discuss the purchase of a $20 million–plus megamansion.