In what they call a “Davis versus Goliath” challenge, Bucks County officials on Wednesday announced a sweeping lawsuit against major social media companies for triggering a growing mental health crisis among the nation’s teenagers.
In what they call a “David vs. Goliath” challenge, Bucks County officials on Wednesday announced a sweeping lawsuit against major social media companies for triggering a growing mental health crisis among the nation’s teenagers.
Citing social media’s addictive qualities and role in inspiring negative self-image, the suit demands accountability and unspecified financial damages for the rising costs of mental health services the county offers to young people.“We want teens to be safe online,” said Liza Crenshaw, a spokesperson for Meta. Crenshaw outlined various tools the company offers teens and their parents, including usage limits that parents can control and notifications to take regular breaks from scrolling.
Those figures come on the heels of a national focus on Instagram, whose parent company, Meta, reportedly knew about their app’s link to poor mental health and self-image among young women, a demographicThat’s led Bucks County officials to describe a “literal and figurative line out the door” at the county’s social services agencies, which cater to young people with in-school counseling, outpatient and family-based therapy, and mobile crisis units.
Assisted by a San Francisco law firm, the county brings a litany of claims linking social media use to negative outcomes for teens. In the 104-page document, they argue companies were complicit in keeping young people online “almost constantly” using algorithms that target dopamine responses in the brain, leading to disrupted attention during classes and poor sleep.
Social media’s virality also came under fire, including the 2021 TikTok “devious licks challenge where Bucks County students damaged school property after being encouraged to tear bathroom equipment from their fixtures. A separate challenge saw teens shooting a 10-year-old child with water beads in the face, along with a delivery driver.
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