If your child was harmed after becoming addicted to using social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and/or YouTube, you may be entitled to recover compensation from a social media addiction lawsuit case or settlement claim.
A team of product injury lawyers and class action attorneys is investigating potential lawsuit and settlement cases of parents and families who claim their children suffered harm (e.g., depression, anxiety, self-harm, eating disorders and/or suicide) after compulsively or excessively using social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and/or YouTube.
Social media addiction is a type of behavioral addiction (i.e., an activity or action that a person is dependent on and craves) that is characterized by an urge to constantly use social media. According to the U.S. Surgeon General, up to 95% of youth ages 13–17 use social media platforms, with more than a third saying they use social media “almost constantly,” while nearly 40% of children ages 8–12 use social media.
Unfortunately, children and teens who compulsively use social media may be at risk of developing serious physical and mental health problems, including suicidal thoughts, self-harm, depression, eating disorders, ADD/ADHD, and, in some cases, death/suicide.
Social Media Addiction Injury Claims
Social media addiction lawsuit and settlement claims potentially being investigated include claims involving children who, after excessively using social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and/or YouTube, suffered injury or complications, including:
- Self-harm
- Suicidal ideation
- Suicide attempt
- Suicide
- Thoughts of self-harm
- Eating disorder
- Anorexia
- Bulimia
- Lack of focus
- ADD/ADHD
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Body dysmorphia
- Mental health issues
- Other social media addiction injury
The Surgeon General has warned of the “increasing concerns among researchers, parents and caregivers, young people, healthcare experts, and others about the impact of social media on youth mental health.”
For example, studies have reported a link between adolescent use of social media and detrimental mental health effects, including depression and suicide. According to a study, adolescents who spent more than 3 hours per day on social media faced double the risk of experiencing poor mental health outcomes including symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Social Media Addiction Lawsuit & Settlement Cases
Social media addiction lawsuit and settlement cases potentially being investigated include claims involving children or teens who suffered injury or complications after becoming addicted to social media, including:
- TikTok
- Snapchat
- YouTube
- Other social media addiction lawsuit cases
Social media addiction lawsuits filed in federal court were consolidated or transferred into a multi-district litigation or MDL for consolidation and coordination of pretrial proceedings, styled as In re: Social Media Adolescent Addiction/Personal Injury Products Liability Litigation, MDL Case No. 3047, United States District Court for the Northern District of California (Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers).
Social media lawsuits filed in state court in California were coordinated for pretrial proceedings, styled as Social Media Cases, Judicial Council Coordinated Proceedings (JCCP) Case No. 5255, Superior Court of California for the County of Los Angeles (Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl).
The social media lawsuit complaints allege, among other things, that social media platforms (such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube) were designed to maximize the amount of time that children, adolescents, and teenagers spend on the platforms, which can lead to compulsive use and addictive behavior and can result in various emotional and physical harms, including, in some cases, death.
The social media addition lawsuits claim that social media companies were allegedly negligent by failing to:
- implement effective protocols to block users under the age of 13
- implement effective parental controls
- implement reasonably available means to monitor, limit or deter excessive frequency or duration of use of platforms by youth
- implement reasonably available means to limit or deter use of platforms by youth during ordinary times for school or sleep
- implement reasonably available means to monitor for, report, and prevent the use of their platforms by sexual predators to victimize, abuse, and exploit youth users
- implement reasonably available means to set up and operate platforms without algorithms and features (such as endless scroll, autoplay, IVR, social comparison, and others) as a means to engage youth users
- set up, monitor, and modify the algorithms used on their platforms to prevent the platforms from actively driving youth users into unsafe, distorted, and unhealthy online experiences including highly sexualized, violent, or predatory environments and environments promoting eating disorders and suicide;
- to provide effective mechanisms for youth users and their parents/guardians to report abuse or misuse of the platform
Defendants in the social media addiction lawsuits have included Meta Platforms, Inc., Facebook Holdings, LLC, Facebook Operations, LLC, Facebook Payments, Inc., Facebook Technologies, Instagram LLC, Snap, Inc., TikTok, Inc., TikTok, Ltd., TikTok, LLC, ByteDance, Inc., YouTube LLC, Google LLC, and Alphabet Inc., among others.
Social Media Use and its Effect On a Child’s Brain
According to a Harvard University study, social media’s effect on the brain is like that of gambling or taking recreational drugs in that the same neural pathways are stimulated, triggering the same reward area of the brain that positively reinforces the activity, i.e., social media use. And, overuse of social media is particularly problematic in children and teens because their developing brain is more vulnerable.
Addiction to social media can significantly disrupt and/or impair a child’s or teen’s functioning in important life areas, including interpersonal relations, performance at school or work, and physical and/or mental health, among others. Many children and their parents and guardians have struggled to cope with the severe, lasting damage suffered due to anxiety, depression, addiction, eating disorders, self-harm, suicidal tendencies, and, in some cases, the loss of life of a child.
Signs of Social Media Addiction
Signs of social media addiction can potentially include:
- Spending a lot of time thinking about social media
- Increased screen time on social media apps
- Spending hours on social media
- Feeling urges to constantly check social media
- Fear of missing out (FOMO) on social media
- Staying up late scrolling through social media
- Using social media to forget about personal problems
- Unable to reduce use of social media
- Needing to spend more time on social media to feel good
- Having withdrawal symptoms when not on social media
- Feeling anxious, restless or upset if unable to use social media
- Using social media while eating or with others
- Spending less time with friends and family
- Difficulties making or keeping friends
- Problems with family and social relationships
- Giving up important or desirable social/recreational activities
- Neglecting responsibilities at home, work, or school
- Mood changes
- Low self-esteem
- Feeling isolated
- Social anxiety disorder
- Problems sleeping
- Psychological harm
- Physical harm
- Other social media addiction signs
Time Is Limited To File A Social Media Lawsuit Case
Deadlines known as statutes of limitation and statutes of repose may limit the time that individuals and families have to file a social media addiction lawsuit to try to recover compensation for injuries they claim to have suffered (e.g., social media addiction, depression, eating disorders, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, etc.) after becoming addicted to social media.
This means that if a social media addiction lawsuit case is not filed before the applicable deadline or limitations period, the claimant may be barred from ever pursuing litigation or taking legal action regarding the social media addiction injury claim. That is why it is important to connect with a social media addiction injury lawyer or attorney as soon as possible.
If your child has become addicted to using Facebook, Instragram, TikTok, Snapchat and/or YouTube and suffered injury or complications, you may be entitled to recover compensation from a social media addiction lawsuit case or settlement claim. Contact a products liability injury lawyer to request a free case review.
*If you or a loved one are experiencing health issues, side effects or complications from a product/service, we urge you to promptly consult with your doctor or physician for an evaluation.
**The listing of a company (e.g., Meta Platforms, Instagram, Snap, TikTok, ByteDance, YouTube, Google and Alphabet, etc.) or product/service (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Tiktok, YouTube, etc.) is not meant to state or imply that the company acted illegally or improperly or that the product/service is unsafe or defective; rather only that an investigation may be, is or was being conducted to determine whether legal rights have been violated.
***The use of any trademarks, tradenames or service marks is solely for product/service identification and/or informational purposes.
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