A coalition of state attorneys general is suing the parent companies of Facebook and Instagram over the social media platforms’ impact on children’s mental health.
Michigan was one of 33 states to file a lawsuit in federal court earlier this week against Meta Platforms, a social media company that “attracts, engages, and contributes to society.”・The platform claims that it has “drastically changed the psychological and social reality of a generation of American youth.” It ends up ensnaring young people and teenagers. ”
The 233-page lawsuit includes accusations that the company misled the public about the dangers of its social media platforms and ignored the damage they caused to the mental health of young users.
“In doing so, Mehta engaged in, and continues to engage in, deceptive and illegal conduct in violation of state and federal law,” the lawsuit, filed Tuesday, Oct. 24 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, states. It is written as “There is.”
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said documents released by former Meta employees show the company is more interested in profiting from teens’ engagement with the platform than their physical and mental health. He said it shows that it is a priority.
“My colleagues and I are adamant that Meta violates the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act by misrepresenting the addictive nature of social media, and that Meta must be held accountable,” Nessel said. Stated.
A statement from Mr. Nessel’s office said the lawsuit is based on confidential material that has not yet been released to the public. However, documents released by former Meta employees show that Meta deliberately made its platform addictive to children and teens through features such as infinite scrolling and near-constant alerts. It details how they benefited from doing so.
“Meth knew that these addictive features had a negative impact on young people’s physical and mental health, including impairing their ability to get enough sleep, but they did not disclose that harm and “We did not make any meaningful changes to minimize this,” the statement said. “Instead, they claimed their platform was safe for young users.”
Elizabeth Eingraham works as the child services manager for Montcalm Care Network, a resource for community mental health services in West Michigan. She was asked this week about the lawsuit against Mehta and her claims about the negative impact social media has on the mental health of adolescents.She said it’s important to remember that social media itself is not evil. Stated.
The harm lies in how teens use the platform, what they view, and other mental health risk factors they may have.
“If they’re seeing something healthy and a community with similar interests, that can be a positive thing,” she says. “But when they view harmful content, they may experience discrimination, body shaming, etc. if they already have other risk factors, such as struggling with mental health. , those are the things they see and the things that can happen because of a lack of guidance.”
Eingraham recommends that parents be aware of what their children are watching and how they are using technology and social media. She said it is important to monitor, supervise and educate on the harmful aspects of these platforms and keep abreast of ever-evolving media platforms.
“Technology is always one step ahead of parents,” she said. “And it’s not going to go away. It’s going to keep changing and evolving, and this generation of young people has grown up with it.”
