Instagram head says no such thing as 'social media addiction'. The lawsuit might change apps forever

A lawsuit against Meta, YouTube, TikTok and Snap brought by a 20-year-old woman at the Los Angeles Superior Court could lead to drastic changes in their apps. Referred to as KGM, the plaintiff claims that she became addicted to social media as a child, causing anxiety, depression and body-image issues. Notably, TikTok and Snapchat settled with her before the trial. There are thousands of other lawsuits where people are slamming social media companies for leading youth to become addicted to their apps. Her lawyers say that “infinitely scroll” on Instagram kept her glued to her phone for at least eight hours a day. They argue that "likes" on her photos and videos gave her a dopamine rush, which made the platform more addictive. They compared the addiction to social media with cigarettes. Mark Lanier, the woman's lawyer, said, "They didn’t just build apps, they built traps. They didn’t want users, they wanted addicts.”

Instagram chief Adam Mosseri's testimony has not gone down well with the plaintiffs. Mosseri told the court that addiction is different from "problematic usage" of social media. “I’m sure I said this, but I think it’s important to differentiate between clinical addiction and problematic use,” said Mosseri. He argued that "addiction" is often used casually, such as when he once said he was addicted to a Netflix show, but "that’s not an actual clinical addiction." He agreed that "it’s possible to use Instagram more than you feel good about," but "too much is relative, it’s personal." Mosseri added, "We are trying to be as safe as possible but also censor as little as possible." Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is testifying next week.

Also Read: ‘Addiction by design’? Meta, YouTube accused of 'engineering addiction' in children during US trial

Prince Harry supports grieving parents standing against social media platforms

The plaintiff claims that these social media platforms were aware that some designs and features could foster detrimental mental health effects in young people, and still misled the public about the safety of their apps. Several families are closely watching the trial, and a group of them are being supported by Prince Harry. His Archewell Foundation is focused on digital safety. There are several cases of young people killing themselves because of social media. Lori Schott took her own life at the age of 18 in November 2020 because she believed she was ugly and worthless. In 2017, Molly Russell, a 14-year-old British schoolgirl, harmed herself and died as she was suffering from depression. It was revealed that social media contributed to her condition. These and many more such cases have triggered a widespread call for clamping down on social media platforms that are being accused of ignoring the safety of children.