Schools claim they have seen increased anxiety, depression, eating disorders and cyberbullying in youth due to social media|Lyncconf Games|CC BY 2.0
Seattle Public Schools have sued the companies behind Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and Youtube for targeting youth with harmful and exploitative content that affects their mental health.
The lawsuit, filed at the US District Court Friday, alleges tech giants have, “affirmatively recommend and promote harmful content to youth, such as pro-anorexia and eating disorder content.”
Social media and youth mental health
Schools claim they have seen increased anxiety, depression, eating disorders and cyberbullying in students. According to the lawsuit, from 2009 to 2019, there was an average 30% increase in the number of students who reported feeling “sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more in a row.”
The school district is asking the court to hold social media companies accountable and order them to pay for prevention education and treatment for social media addiction.