MADISON, Wis. — Changes to social media platforms are expected after a jury found YouTube and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, negligent for knowingly designing addictive products that harm the mental health of teens.
The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by a now 20-year-old woman and her mother. Meta and YouTube were ordered to pay a combined $6 million in damages.
Snapchat and TikTok were also named in the lawsuit, but they settled before trial.
Experts say this court decision could set a precedent for similar cases.
Wisconsin mom Angie Nielsen said the impact of social media on kids is a big concern. She said it was a big decision to let her 13-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter share a cell phone.
“We’ve disabled pretty much everything except for calling and texting,” Nielsen said. “I think they can use the calculator and the camera and maybe Google Maps.”
They are not allowed on social media yet, but a lot of kids their age are. Nielsen said her kids are interested in using it but have not pushed it.
“If we said today, ‘Go ahead, download every social media app,’ I’m sure they would,” she said.
Keeping kids and teens off social media, despite it being so prevalent in society, is increasingly difficult for parents. Concerns are only growing as more research comes out about how these apps and websites impact mental health.
“The design features of social media—algorithms, notifications, unlimited scroll—are intentional,” said Roxy Etta, child development and parenting state specialist at UW-Madison’s Division of Extension. “These companies are doing it on purpose to keep eyes on the screen, because eyes on screen for them means more money.”
Etta studies the impacts of media on children and families. She is a nationally recognized expert on the topic and has spoken at conferences and events around the world.
Etta said it’s up to parents to model healthy behavior when it comes to their own screen time and use of social media.
“Continue to talk to kids and explain to them how social media is designed, how it makes them feel, and to come up with rules or expectations in your household for how it will be used,” Etta said.
It’s also important to monitor signs of social media addiction, including changes in sleep, or withdrawal from activities and interaction.
“A lot of maybe withdrawing from in-person activities, and often also it’s just interrupting with their day-to-day life, so school, their grades, their performance,” Etta said.
Nielsen said she’ll allow her kids to use social media eventually, but she plans to do it slowly and set ground rules.
“No phones in bedrooms, making sure it’s only used in community spaces,” Nielsen said.
