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Carol Green Ungar

Mark Zuckerberg is no angel but….

Mark Zuckerberg is no angel.  Back in the ought’s, he founded the online platform as a tool to judge the attractiveness of his fellow students.  That’s counts as vulgar.

Nevertheless, the campaign that has been mounted against him is nothing short of a witch-hunt.

Mark Zuckerberg is an easy target. His youth and obscenely large bank account make him easy to hate. Though he doesn’t practice the religion or donate to Jewish causes his conspicuously Jewish name which probably doesn’t help.

Disney Villain

When whistleblower Frances Haugen accuses him of prioritizing profits over the mental health of young women it felt natural to cheer her on.  The story felt like the plot of a Disney film.

Gross red-headed billionaire beast attacking young maidens? No wonder Democrats and Republicans have united around this cause.

Haugen claims that scrolling through Instagram causes young women to develop suicidal thoughts and eating disorders. As proof, she cites internal Facebook research meant for internal use which she leaked to the public.

Nonsense

As Zuckerberg himself pointed out this claim makes no sense. “If we wanted to ignore research, why would we create an industry-leading research program to understand these important issues in the first place? If we didn’t care about fighting harmful content, then why would we employ so many more people dedicated to this than any other company in our space — even ones larger than us?” https://www.thewrap.com/mark-zuckerberg-responds-to-facebook-whistleblowers-senate-testimony-most-of-the-claims-dont-make-any-sense/

Instagram isn’t like cigarettes. It’s not a product whose only use is self-harm. There’s a lot of foolishness on social media and also good things, recipes, humor, community, and fun. Can looking at an image on Instagram bring on bad thoughts? Yes of course but so can looking at a magazine ad, reading a book, or even walking on the street. Are we going to gouge out people’s eyes?

The alleged consequences that Haugen cites, suicidal ideation and eating disorders are complex phenomena with many causes.

Nothing New Under the Sun

Our society is intensely looks conscience and has been for longer than Zuckerberg has been alive.  Sadly and ironically the feminist revolution has done precious little to change this. Why blame Zuckerberg?

We Can Do Better? Really?

“We can do better,” says Frances Haugen, but how?  Her proposed solution, an unwieldy government mechanism to censor social media will cause more problems than it will solve.  How will the government monitor social media? Which standards will be used? The Bible, WOKE progressive doctrine? And what about free speech rights?

Looking at the real problem.

If so, many girls are so vulnerable that a glance at Instagram drives them to desperation it’s time for a good hard look at mental health. In the world’s richest country, access to mental health care is severely limited. https://www.nami.org/Support-Education/Publications-Reports/Public-Policy-Reports/The-Doctor-is-Out  A National Alliance on Mental Health report tellingly titled “the doctor is out,” reveals that millions of Americans with mental illness struggle to find mental health care.

” Nearly half of the 60 million adults and children living with mental health conditions in the United States go without any treatment. People who seek treatment must navigate a fragmented and costly system full of obstacles. As a result, many people cannot access mental health care when they need it most,” says NAMI.

Real Problems and Real Solutions

If this conversation is about teenage girls another area worth looking at is in-school psychological services.  School mental health professionals are in short supply with many schools staffed with only one counselor for 500 kids in pandemic with extra stressed kids. That’s outrageous. https://www.nbcwashington.com/investigations/schools-face-shortage-of-mental-health-professionals-as-students-slowly-return/2637788/

Instead of wasting time and taxpayers’ money holding a kangaroo court against Facebook let’s solve this problem.

Mark Zuckerberg is well known for his philanthropy. This sounds like a cause he needs to get on board with.

About the Author
Carol Ungar is a prize-winning author who writes from the Judean Hills.
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