Meta

Meta is one of the world's most valuable companies and is considered to be one of the Big Five American tech companies. Meta builds technologies that help people connect, find communities and grow businesses. Meta’s products empower more than 3 billion people around the world to share ideas and offer support. Founded in 2004, Meta is the parent company of several popular products and services, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Threads, and Reality Labs. In 2021, under the direction of CEO Mark Zuckerburg, the company changed its name from "Facebook" to "Meta" to reflect its focus on building the "next evolution of digital connection" and the integrated environment that links all of its products and services.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVEALvpoiMQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjNI9K1D_xo

Your Challenge:

<aside> 🔹 Challenge: "What can Meta do to ensure the safety of young people that use its products? As Meta ventures more into the Metaverse, what ideas are important to consider to provide a high quality, non-harmful experience for younger platform users?

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Challenge Context:

Meta is currently experiencing significant legal pressure for it’s product challenges with younger users. 41 states and the District of Columbia sued Meta, alleging that the company hurts children by violating their privacy and misleading them about the potential harms they may experience from using its products. Potential questions that come up outside of the actual problem statement 👇

• What are GenZ-centric tools and products which Meta can introduce to help young people and their families have safe and positive influence online?
• Meta has been accused of intentionally turning young people into social media addicts. Do you agree with this? What can Meta do to prevent kids from potential harms they may experience from using its products?
• Meta has been accused of constructing an algorithm that does not take into account ethical questions and safety. How do we incorporate ethical thinking into algorithms of Meta’s products?

MUST WATCH: Introducing the challenge

Meta Challenge.mp4

Challenge Guidance:

• This challenge can focus on either existing products, or new products like Reality Labs. Don’t get pigeonholed into only thinking about legacy or new products. You can take this challenge in several different directions depending on what you’re interested in.
• Make sure you start by understanding context around current Meta lawsuits and happenings in the news.
• Develop a perspective on how legitimate Meta’s concerns are. You’re a young user of Meta products - how do you feel these products could be improved? Do they need to be improved at all?

To Note:

Our main point of contact for this challenge is Kristina, who you saw in the video above. She works as a member of the Meta oversight board, but is not officially a Meta employee. This is relevant only in the sense that the output of this challenge will be reviewed by Kristina herself, who can choose to share with Meta executives if she wishes.

Important Meta-specific Events:

💡 Meta AMA w/ Kristina - 12/10 at 11am ET

(more to come)

Resources:

• Social media brings benefits and risks to teens. Here’s how psychology can help identify a path forward
• Health advisory on social media use in adolescence
• Teens, Social Media, and Privacy
• Social Media and Youth Mental Health
• Building the Metaverse Responsibly (resource from Meta)
• Metaverse-Youth-Safety-Guide
• Facebook Use Predicts Declines in Subjective Well-Being in Young Adults (research paper)
• Is Virtual Reality Bad for Our Health? Studies Point to Physical and Mental Impacts of VR Usage (article)
• Just How Harmful is Social Media? (article)