Social media giants like Facebook and TikTok made an estimated $11 billion a year from users under 18

The world's social media giants generated $10.7 billion in ad revenue in 2022, all from their American users who are 17 or younger, a study claimed.

Researchers at Harvard University found that about 20 percent ($2.1 billion) of revenue from Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, X, and YouTube comes from children ages 12 or younger.

The other $8.6 billion came from users between 13 and 17 years old.

The study published on Wednesday claimed to provide a first estimate of how much money this group of companies makes by preying on young internet users.

Research has shown a link between young people's social media consumption and mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety and eating disorders.

These sites were designed to cause addiction in children, former Facebook employees claimed.

The researchers who conducted the study concluded that with billions of dollars at stake, social media companies have enough reasons to keep kids hooked.

Because these large and influential companies are not required to make their data publicly available, the study authors had to collect their estimates from other sources of information.

The results of the public survey and market research provided data on the social media habits of young users in 2022, including the amount of time they spend on each site per day. The researchers used these numbers to estimate how all children in the United States use social media platforms.

Market research helped the study's authors estimate how much money each social media company made from advertising that year. (These numbers were not freely available to the public.)

The computer simulation provided specific dollar amounts.

In addition to these numbers, researchers estimate that 30 to 40 percent of Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube ad revenue comes from kids 17 and under.

The numbers are amazing:

Instagram's advertising revenue from young people topped the list at nearly $4.5 billion, more than double that of TikTok or YouTube (about $2.1 billion each).

Twitter will not be renamed to X until 2023, which is reflected in the study data.

Here's how much of that money comes specifically from teens' social media habits:

The researchers found that children 12 and younger were responsible for approximately $1 billion in annual ad revenue on YouTube.

Instagram was close to $800 million.

The numbers for teens are even higher:

Instagram's $4 billion figure dwarfs others among teens.

TikTok came in second place with a value of $2 billion.

The results appeared in the journal One plus.

With so much money at stake, it's hard to believe that tech companies will make their products less addictive for kids, as the study's authors suggested.

Big Tech companies have strongly resisted government regulations, and these findings “underscore the financial incentive for platforms to oppose government efforts to protect youth,” the study authors wrote.

Although tech executives insist that these companies are capable of self-regulation and “doing the right thing for their users,” the huge profits generated by young users suggest there is little reason for them to change course.

When government officials tried to regulate the technology industry, experts couldn't agree on what that should look like.

For example, Children's Internet Safety Act (KOSA), a bill introduced in Congress in 2022 and reintroduced in 2023, aims to prevent social media companies from collecting data on children under 16 years old.

Data collected about children helps shape the targeted ads users see on social media, enabling companies to feed them more enticing content.

KOSA will also require social media companies to “act in the best interests of minors” by limiting their exposure to harmful content.

But even groups that tend to be critical of Big Tech, such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), opposed the COSA project. The group claimed that the broad scope of the bill could open the door to increased censorship and reduced freedom online.

“Without clear guidance on what type of design or content might lead to these harms, they are more likely to censor any Discussions that could make them liable, according to the EFF statement.

“It would put the levers of censorship in the hands of state prosecutors and significantly jeopardize young people’s rights and safety online.”

Whatever the details, it is clear that social media companies reap huge profits from their young users.