Frances Haugen, a whistleblower, gathered documents from Facebook before she submitted her resignation.
Haugen stated that the company's research shows that Instagram is harmful to teenagers.
In 2012, Facebook purchased Instagram for $1 billion.
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Frances Haugen, whistleblower for "60 Minutes", said that Facebook's internal research revealed that Instagram, which was acquired by it in 2012 for $1billion, makes teenage girls more likely to be affected by eating disorders and suicide thoughts.
Haugen was a former product manager at Facebook. She began gathering internal documents because she became frustrated with the company's preference for growth and user engagement over negative effects, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Haugen's internal research found that Facebook has found that 13.5% of teenage girls believe Instagram makes suicide thoughts worse and 17% say Instagram makes eating disorders worse.
"And the worst part is that Facebook's research shows that as these young women consume eating disorders content, they become more depressed. They actually use the app more," Haugen stated. They end up in a feedback loop where their bodies hate them more and more.
Haugen stated that Facebook's research shows that Instagram is "distinctly worse" than other social media and damages teenagers.
Last March, the company had announced plans to create a version of its app that is specifically targeted at children aged 13 and under. It announced last week that it had decided to suspend the project.
Facebook responded to Haugen's interview on "60 Minutes", saying: "It's not true that leaked internal research shows Instagram is toxic for teenage girls. According to the research, many teens who spoke out said that Instagram helped them deal with difficult moments and issues that teenagers face. Like external research on these topics, this research found that teens have both positive and negative experiences using social media.
