Has Social Media Harmed You or a Loved One?

What Is Social Media Addiction?

Compulsive, persistent, and excessive use of social media can develop into serious addiction problems in some users, which can negatively impact all aspects of their lives. Social media addiction causes a release of dopamine, a chemical in the brain that provides pleasure. Those suffering from social media addiction may display symptoms such as:

• Decreased interest in other activities
• Excessive use during real-world and social activities
• Shunning responsibilities
• Difficulty making and maintaining relationships
• Decreased self-esteem
• Increased mental health conditions
• Excessive, frequent, and prolonged use
• Reduced interpersonal interactions
• Uncontrollable urges to check social media

Addiction to social media can also lead to sleep deprivation from late-night scrolling, disordered eating patterns, and negative body image.

Does Social Media Use Affect Mental Health?

Research studies have revealed that the rise and popularity of social media can have alarming effects on some users’ mental health. The harmful mental health effects are significant among young users whose developing brains and personalities are more vulnerable. According to the Mayo Clinic, 12 to 15-year-old users who spend three or more hours per day using social media are at significantly increased risk of developing mental health problems.

The features and algorithms employed in social media platforms use addictive psychological tactics that trigger regions of the human brain, rewiring and training users to spend increasingly more time on the platform. Common harmful mental health effects of social media include:

• Anxiety and Depression: In 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General’s office issued a public health warning that social media use is a main contributor to depression, anxiety, and other problems in teenagers. Social media use can increase the risk of anxiety and depression through self-comparisons and feelings of exclusion toward idealized portrayals and activities in other users’ lives. Social media addiction and dependency also cause sleep deprivation and stress, which can increase anxiety and depression.
• Body Image and Eating Disorders: Frequent showcasing of unrealistic and idealized body standards prevalent on social media can exacerbate body image problems and trigger or worsen eating disorders. Younger users who are often exposed to edited and filtered images of “perfect bodies” are vulnerable to making unhealthy comparisons and developing a negative self-image of their appearances, increasing the risk of developing and maintaining body image issues and eating disorders.
• Self-Harming: Social media can contribute to self-harming behaviors through negative social comparisons, exposure to harmful content, and fostering intimidation, threatening, and bullying environments that lead to self-harming as a coping mechanism. Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to being targeted by or engaging in bullying, unrealistic portrayals of beauty and success, or joining communities normalizing or encouraging self-harming.
• Suicide: Constant exposure to idealized images and lifestyles, bullying, and negative self-comparisons rife on social media can contribute to suicidal ideation and behaviors by amplifying feelings of inadequacy, loneliness, and depression. Feelings of isolation and hopelessness when individuals encounter harassment or negative feedback online can be intensified and increase the risks of suicidal thoughts or actions. Additionally, the spread of harmful content or suicide-related images and videos can influence already vulnerable individuals.

How Are Social Media Companies Liable for Public Harm?

Meta platforms, the megacompany behind Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, the world’s three largest and most influential social media platforms, is facing numerous lawsuits and increasingly harsh public criticism. Meta’s founder, Mark Zuckerburg, has repeatedly been called to testify publicly in front of Congress regarding many of his platforms’ negative aspects and outcomes.

One of the most scandalous and publicly criticized centered around the “Facebook Papers,” leaked internal documents revealing executives were well aware of the negative impacts of its platforms on users’ mental health, among other serious issues. The revelations highlighted the company’s failure to implement effective safeguards and prompted calls from the public and politicians for stricter regulation and oversight of social media platforms.

The company now faces a flood of lawsuits involving mental health issues, emotional distress, teen suicide, self-harm, eating disorders, sexual abuse, grooming, and drug overdoses and deaths. The majority of lawsuits charge that the company:

• Failed to install safeguards and channels to monitor harmful and dangerous content.
• Developed and utilized knowingly defective algorithms and technologies promoting harmful and dangerous content to minors.
• Failed to warn consumers of the serious mental and physical health risks of social media use.
• Designed platforms and algorithms intended to maximize screentime and promote knowingly addictive behaviors and actions.
• Failed to exercise reasonable care in all aspects of the platforms’ design, development, operations, and promotion.

The majority of social media lawsuits have been filed by parents and families of children, teens, and young adults who sustained serious mental health or physical harm through the use of Meta’s platforms. The suits allege the company’s interest clearly and consistently opts for maximizing profits over consumers’ protection by exacerbating and encouraging constant engagement through harmful, dangerous, and addictive content.

In the rapidly developing world of social media, legal actions not only compensate victims and shed light on the dangers but can bring powerful change by developing and enacting regulations enforcing public safety. Some states are already proposing legislation to expand options for holding social media companies legally accountable for additional types of harm, such as social media addiction.