Parents have claimed for years that social media is getting their teens hooked with addictive features that lead to depression, anxiety, eating disorders and, in some tragic cases, death.
Published at
These testimonies have led governments around the world to pass laws limiting adolescents’ access to social networks and to force technology companies to act more forcefully to protect young people.
This week, concerned parents will plead their case in a Los Angeles court, in the first major addiction lawsuit against Meta, TikTok and YouTube. This lawsuit and others expected soon will set a precedent in establishing whether or not social media causes psychological harm, which could have profound implications for the industry and citizens.
Anxiety and depression
The lawsuit involves a teenager who claims she suffered from anxiety and depression after using various platforms during her childhood.
Since 2022, multiple school boards, state attorneys general, and families have filed lawsuits against major platforms. Some of these lawsuits were consolidated into a case that began in federal court in Northern California.
The technology industry is criticized for having designed addictive algorithms, thus maximizing its profits at the expense of the mental health of young people.
In addition, she is accused of hiding what she knows about the harmful effects of her platforms, instead of warning the public.
In their defense, the technology companies argue that families are complaining about the effect of content created by third parties and for which the companies are not responsible. They also claim to offer users ways to prevent unwanted experiences, including safety features for young people. In some cases, industry lawyers allege that the harm suffered by victims could be the result of external factors such as complex family and school situations.
The trial will highlight a debate: Does social media increase rates of depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation among adolescents? Both the Biden and Trump administrations have argued that yes. But in 2023, a report from the American Psychological Association concluded that social media “is neither beneficial nor harmful for young people” and called for more research.
“It’s a complex issue. Research does not show that all digital media use is bad or addictive,” says Tamar Mendelson, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She adds that social media addiction is not an official psychiatric diagnosis.
One study “actually shows that the children with the most mental health problems are actually those who barely touch digital media and those who use it excessively,” she notes.
There seems to be a happy medium in usage, where teenagers are actually the most mentally healthy.
Tamar Mendelson, professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Asked for this article, spokespersons for YouTube and Meta say that the companies offer various tools allowing young people and parents to manage the online experience. TikTok did not respond.
Not easy to prove
According to Eric Goldman, an expert on internet regulations at the Santa Clara University School of Law, it may be difficult to legally prove that internet platforms are the cause of the mental disorders that adolescents suffer. “Assuming that addiction exists and is legally recognized, who causes this addiction? », he raises.
Jury selection is expected to begin this Tuesday for the trial bringing together the families of victims of the networks in California Superior Court. A 19-year-old woman, authorized by the court to testify anonymously, alleges that when she was a minor, she used four social media platforms. She claims she became addicted and suffered from anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicidal tendencies.
“She will be able to explain in a very concrete way what social networks did to her during her life and how, in many ways, they deprived her of her childhood and adolescence,” says Matthew Bergman, founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center, which represents the young woman and other victims in these lawsuits.
She is very representative of many children in the United States, the harm they have suffered, and how their lives have been upended by the deliberate decisions of social media companies.
Matthew Bergman, founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center
In its defense, Google disputes this version of the facts, alleging that the young woman had experienced difficult family relationships, abuse and harassment at school, which had played a role in her mental disorders.
This article was first published in the Washington Post.
Read the original version (in English; subscription required)
