GoKawiilA court ruling with potentially massive implications has found that social media apps are intentionally designed to be addictive, and are harmful to teenage mental health.
A now 20-year-old woman sued Meta and YouTube owner Google for damaging her mental health as a child, with a jury awarding her $6 million in damages – and this is likely to be only the start …
Social media apps long linked to harmful effects
Academic studies have long linked use of social media apps to mental health issues in children and teenagers. Apps like Instagram have been found to promote unrealistic body images; social media in general can leave teens with the impression that everybody else is living amazing lives while their own is lacking; cyberbullying is commonplace in apps used by teens; and apps have sometimes pushed self-harm content into the feeds of teenage users.
There have been a number of teen suicides linked to social media:
Worse, it’s argued that social networks are not only fully aware of the harm that can be done, but that they intentionally design their apps to be addictive.
Court finds Meta and YouTube responsible
Multiple lawsuits have been filed, and BBC News reports that a verdict has just been reached in one of the highest-profile ones.
A Los Angeles jury handed down an unprecedented win for a young woman who sued Meta and YouTube over her childhood addiction to social media. Jurors found that Meta, which owns Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, and Google, owner of YouTube, intentionally built addictive social media platforms that harmed the 20-year old’s mental health. The woman, known as Kaley, was awarded $6m (£4.5m) in damages.
The jury also ruled that the two companies acted deliberately.
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