That ‘For You’ page could be harming your health

New York State legislators recently put a stop to personalized social media feeds for the under 18 set, citing mental health harms. The law they passed takes an unusual approach to the challenging task of regulating social media by focusing on algorithms, rather than platforms or specific content. Lawmakers say the algorithms are addictive. Research agrees—mostly. But the way the research explains addictive algorithms and their harms is more of a constellation than a straight line. Social media companies aren’t transparent about how their algorithms work, so researchers have had to study them indirectly. Testimony from former Meta employees tells us that content algorithms are designed to keep kids glued to their phones. What makes feeds tailored to an individual’s preferences so toxic has less to do with personalization and much more to do with how companies hack engagement. Not only are social media algorithms keeping people on for longer, social media platforms may also be exposing teens to certain types of negative content that keeps their attention.