Serious concerns have been raised about the effect of social media on teenagers' mental well-being. Meta is letting a group of researchers examine some of Instagram's data to determine if social media is psychologically damaging younger users. The Verge reported that the Center for Open Science (COS) is launching a new joint pilot program with Meta to produce independent studies about how social media affects teenagers' mental health. The Instagram Data Access Pilot for Well-Being Research program will conduct "independent academic" research using up to six months of Instagram data to determine the "potential positive or negative associations of Instagram use" among teens and young adults. The study will also examine the positive and negative differences of large populations across the world and the causes of "statistical relationships between Instagram and social or emotional health," according to the program's website.