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June 21, 2025

Good morning! It's no surprise that Instagram isn't the best thing for young girls' self-esteem, but a new report reveals exactly how harmful it is — and that Facebook is totally aware. More on that below, plus my chat with the authors of an explosive book about what else Facebook has been hiding. We've also got helpful how-to guides for maintaining a healthy mindset, cobbling together a Halloween costume from your closet, and mastering your makeup like Bobbi Brown!

In the News

A new investigation revealed Instagram's damaging effects on the well-being of teens. (Katie Couric Media/Getty Images)

Instagram's Insidious Side

Facebook knows its image-sharing app Instagram is toxic for teenage girls, but it has publicly downplayed the harmful effects, according to a new investigation by the Wall Street Journal. Here’s a breakdown of the disturbing findings in the company’s internal research on teen users:

What they studied: For the past three years, Facebook conducted focus groups, online surveys, and other studies to determine how Instagram, which it purchased in 2012 for $1 billion, impacts its millions of teen users.

What they found: The app’s addictive quality and a pressure to appear perfect on the platform “create a perfect storm” for teens, with the potential to trigger depression, eating disorders, and an unhealthy sense of their own bodies, researchers said. One in three teen girls reported that Instagram made their body image issues worse. Another study of teens with suicidal thoughts found 13% of teen users in the U.K. and 6% of U.S. teens could trace those harmful ideations back to Instagram.

What they said: Facebook has publicly played down the app’s negative impact (a pattern among the company’s leadership, which I recently learned about in a revealing interview). At a congressional hearing in March, CEO Mark Zuckerberg (who has reportedly seen the studies), said: “The research that we’ve seen is that using social apps to connect with other people can have positive mental-health benefits.”

What they’re doing to address it: The app experimented with hiding the number of “likes” on posts in an initiative called Project Daisy. They found it didn’t change how teens felt, but rolled it out anyway to show that “Instagram cares about its users,” Facebook execs wrote in an internal note. Company researchers also said they’re working on a way to ask people if they’d like a break from the app, but they’re struggling to identify the users most at-risk.

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to union workers and volunteers on September 14. (Getty Images)

More Stories:

Newsom cruises to victory: California Gov. Gavin Newsom has won the state's first recall election in 18 years, delivering a decisive response to the question of whether voters will punish officials who enact strict Covid restrictions. There was no talk of election fraud from his main GOP challenger Larry Elder on stage after the result, suggesting that previous discussion of "shenanigans" was a ploy to energize Trump supporters.
The plot thickens: Attorney Alex Murdaugh, who recently resigned from his law firm job after allegedly misappropriating funds, has been accused of arranging his own killing in a $10 million life insurance scheme. Curtis Edward Smith was arrested on assisted suicide and fraud counts Tuesday. Murdaugh survived the Sept. 4 shooting, which occurred months after the unsolved slayings of his wife and adult son.
Covid controversy: Nicki Minaj's, er, anecdote about her cousin's friend's reaction to the shot had a lot of the internet in stitches yesterday. But her particular brand of vaccine caution is helping to mainstream a dangerous form of anti-science — which is especially concerning considering it's never been easier to get a fake vaxx card.
Too hot to handle: Considering what we know about global warming and the extreme effects it has on our bodies, it's clear the time is now to take action to save our climate — and ourselves. So it's great news that our friends at P&G have committed to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.

Daily Special

On edge about whether it’s safe to attend large gatherings, eat indoors, go to the office, or travel on public transportation again? With Covid-19 variants popping up, lots of us are fretting about which activities we can safely partake in. If you’re feeling uncertain about the world opening up, that anxiety is understandable. We asked Bea Harris, a clinical psychologist and Humana’s Director of Human Behavior, to give us six tips for soothing some of your worries. It all starts with taking control of what you can.

The Eyes Have It

We love the bold, unexpected colors taking center stage this fall, but it can be challenging to take those kinds of on-trend looks and make them your own — especially with makeup. Enter Bobbi Brown, our go-to beauty guru. She prefers a "natural, effortless look," so she's got amazing advice for bringing some fun to your face without going overboard.

For the eyes, Bobbi loves this powder eyeshadow in shades of pink and almond, which are flattering on everyone. She's also a fan of adding a wink with the color of your eyeliner using this fantastic pencil in navy. These tools are great for experimenting without steering too far away from your classic look.

To learn how to master a playful lip and blissful blush, check out Bobbi's full tutorial for expert tips guaranteed to make you look gorgeous.

The Lighter Side

On a shoestring: Halloween's around the corner, so it's time to start brainstorming costume ideas! If you'd rather not break the bank, here are some wallet-friendly ideas based on items you may already have in your closet.
Epic nature: You've got to see this rare footage of a "megapod" of humpback whales feeding off the coast of Australia.
The full experience: We're in awe of deaf Broadway’s Into the Woods, which offers a vision for accessible musical theater.
Quite the contrast: Why Netflix's chaotic Money Heist, the most popular show in the world, is the opposite of Ocean's Eleven (and kinda like Game of Thrones in reverse...).

Final Words

David Rubenstein’s interviews with the world’s foremost historians, business leaders, and diplomats always leave us with new lessons about our culture, so we asked him to tell us about something he discovered while working on his new book, The American Experiment: Dialogues on a Dream.

"I learned an amazing thing from Harvard history professor Jill Lepore: There was no American history textbook written by a woman until Jill wrote an incredible 900-page volume," Rubenstein tells us. "She recounts an anecdote of a kindergarten class that was studying key figures in the American Revolution — all men, it turns out. She asked why they were not learning about any women, and one of the students said, 'Because there were no women then.'"

There's no shortage of inspiring women in The American Experiment, which also spotlights game-changing figures like Billie Jean King, Madeleine Albright, and Rita Moreno. From civil rights to public health to immigration, tons of eye-opening lessons await in this highly recommended read.

See you tomorrow!

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