Seattle public schools have filed a lawsuit against tech giants, including TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat, accusing them of creating a “mental health crisis among America’s Youth.” According to the 91-page lawsuit filed in a US district court, the platforms have exploited the addictive nature of social media, leading to rising anxiety, depression and thoughts of self-harm among young users.
The complaint states that these companies have made choices to design and operate their platforms in ways that exploit the psychology and neurophysiology of users, leading them to spend excessive amounts of time on their platforms. As a result of these choices, the platforms have “hooked” tens of millions of students across the country into addictive behaviour.
