SAN FRANCISCO: A school district in the US state of Maryland has sued Meta, Google, Snapchat and TikTok for allegedly contributing to a “mental health crisis” among students. The lawsuit, filed by the Howard County Public School System, said that children are suffering an unprecedented mental health crisis fuelled by addictive and dangerous social media products.
In the past decade, Americans’ engagement with social media grew exponentially. “That explosion in usage is no accident. It is the result of defendants’ studied efforts to induce young people to compulsively use their products —Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube,” the lawsuit read.
Social media platforms have grown not just their user bases, but the frequency with which users use their platforms and the time each user spends on their platforms.
In the past decade, Americans’ engagement with social media grew exponentially. “That explosion in usage is no accident. It is the result of defendants’ studied efforts to induce young people to compulsively use their products —Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube,” the lawsuit read.
Social media platforms have grown not just their user bases, but the frequency with which users use their platforms and the time each user spends on their platforms.