More school districts are suing social media platforms
Image: Getty
In January, we wrote about a lawsuit brought by Seattle’s public school district that accused TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Snapchat of contributing to an ongoing youth mental health crisis in America.
And when Seattle PSD made this move, they may have well been singing “let’s get it started in here.” Because since then, more than two dozen school districts across four other states – CA, FL, NJ, and PA – have filed similar suits, claiming the social media companies have harmed young Americans by intentionally designing and marketing the platforms so they would become addicted.
- Social media companies have denied the allegations, pointing to their wide range of age-restricted features and parental controls designed to protect younger users.
- They also contend that there are many other potential factors to the youth mental health crisis – like Covid/remote schooling, political tensions, mass shootings, fear of climate change, etc. – making it impossible to isolate the impact social media alone is having.
🤔 What does the science say?... Like the FB status, it’s… complicated. A 2020 meta-analysis of meta-analyses (aka the holy grail of statistical reviews) found that increased use of digital technology led to a small negative effect on well-being, but a causal link was difficult to pinpoint.
More recently, a UNC study published in JAMA Pediatrics found that teens reporting habitual social media use – defined as checking more than 15x per day – became “hypersensitive to feedback from their peers,” as demonstrated by a distinct brain development trajectory when compared to teens who didn’t use social media frequently.
📸 Big picture: The CDC’s biennial survey on US high school students’ health and well-being, published last month, found the percentage of girls who reported feelings of persistent sadness or hopelessness rose from 36% in 2011 to 57% a decade later. That figure is nearly double the rate for high school boys, which grew from 21% to 29% over the same period.
📊 Flash poll: Do you think social media is the No. 1 factor behind America’s recent uptick in teens experiencing mental health problems?
+IMPORTANT: If you or someone you know may be considering suicide, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988, or the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.
See a 360° view of what media pundits are saying →
Sprinkles from the Left
- Some commentators argue that data shows the recent increase in teen mental health issues started around 2012, which seems to match up with when social media first rose to mass popularity.
- Others contend that rather than social media, parents, teachers, and anyone with a teen in their life should bear the most responsibility for rising youth mental health issues.
- “Don’t Let Politics Cloud Your View of What’s Going On With Teens and Depression” –Michelle Goldberg, NY Times
- “We are the ones failing our teens, not social media” –Emma McCarthy, The Mercury News
- “CDC Report on Teen Mental Health Is a Red Alert” –Lisa Jarvis, Bloomberg
Sprinkles from the Right
- Some commentators argue that it’s misguided to blame teen mental health issues on social media, when adults are also suffering from increasingly high rates of the same problems, which indicates a deeper issue.
- Others contend that strict age limits should be enforced on all social media companies due to the obvious lack of concern for teens’ mental health that has been consistently displayed by Big Tech.
- “US Teens Feel Down, But the Adults Aren’t All Right Either” –Niall Ferguson, Bloomberg
- “Ban Kids from Social Media” –Christine Rosen, National Review
- “Like tobacco, social media is a danger to children” –Zach Whiting and Jared Patterson, Washington Times
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