Social media companies generated over $11 billion in advertising revenue from minors last year, according to a new study.
The study by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health was published on Wednesday.
According to the study, government regulation and more transparency from the platforms are needed.
“Our finding that social media platforms generate substantial advertising revenue from youth highlights the need for greater data transparency as well as public health interventions and government regulations,” said Amanda Raffoul, lead author of the study and instructor in pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, in a press release.
Bryn Austin, a senior author of the study and a professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Harvard, said that the companies have failed to show that they can self-regulate.
“Although social media platforms may claim that they can self-regulate their practices to reduce the harms to young people, they have yet to do so, and our study suggests they have overwhelming financial incentives to continue to delay taking meaningful steps to protect children,” said Austin.
To arrive at the $11 billion figure, the researchers first estimated the number of users under the age of 18 on Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and X, formerly known as Twitter, in 2022. This was achieved by using official population census data, Common Sense Media data, and Pew Research survey data.
The researchers then used data from eMarketer and Qustodio, a parent control app, to estimate the average number of minutes spent by users per day on each platform and to project each platform’s gross advertisement revenue.
Using a simulation model with the data, the authors then calculated how much ad revenue the platforms generated from minors in the U.S.
According to the study, the number of U.S.-based users under the age of 18 for each social media company was:
- YouTube – 49.7 million users
- TikTok – 18.9 million users
- Snapchat – 18 million users
- Instagram – 16.7 million users
- Facebook – 9.9 million users
- X – 7 million users
“YouTube derived the greatest ad revenue from users 12 and under ($959.1 million), followed by Instagram ($801.1 million), and Facebook ($137.2 million). Instagram derived the greatest ad revenue from users ages 13-17 ($4 billion), followed by TikTok ($2 billion), and YouTube ($1.2 billion). The researchers also calculated that Snapchat derived the greatest share of its overall 2022 ad revenue from users under 18 (41%), followed by TikTok (35%), YouTube (27%), and Instagram (16%).”
Lawmakers in some U.S. states have begun introducing and passing legislation intended to limit social media use among children, reported Fox 4 KDFW. Proponents of the legislation point to the harmful mental health impact and other effects excessive social media use can cause.
A policy paper published by the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2020 said that children are “uniquely vulnerable to the persuasive effects of advertising because of immature critical thinking skills and impulse inhibition,” per Fox 4.
“School-aged children and teenagers may be able to recognize advertising but often are not able to resist it when it is embedded within trusted social networks, encouraged by celebrity influencers, or delivered next to personalized content.”
