Social media’s impact on student mental health is drawing significant attention, with the latest lawsuit filed by 11 school districts on Long Island, New York, targeting platforms such as TikTok and Facebook, claiming that these social media giants have created “addictive and harmful” platforms that have led to an increase in student mental health issues, resulting in severe financial and resource crises for these districts.
The Long Island school districts that filed the lawsuit last week include Brentwood, Great Neck, Islip, Jericho, Port Jefferson, South Huntington, and Westbury among others, totaling 11 districts.
Representing 37 school districts on Long Island and approximately 1,000 nationwide, California attorney William Shinoff stated that more than 20 other Long Island districts are also planning to file similar lawsuits.
“They (social media companies) are well aware of the harm they are causing, yet have taken no steps to prevent it,” Shinoff said.
These lawsuits were filed in the California federal court, with defendants including Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, TikTok (the international version of Douyin), along with other defendants like Snapchat and YouTube owned by Google.
Similar lawsuits have emerged in other regions in recent years. New York State Attorney General Letitia James and attorneys general from 32 other states filed similar lawsuits last year, alleging that these social media companies have created addictive features that have had negative impacts on the mental health of young people.
Studies have confirmed the significant impact of social media on causing mental health issues among young people, including increased depression, anxiety, decreased self-esteem, eating disorders, and an increase in suicidal tendencies.
In October 2023, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced legislation to prohibit minors from accessing so-called “addictive content” without parental consent, and to ban websites from collecting and using minors’ personal data.
A spokesperson for Snapchat responded to the lawsuit filed by the Long Island school districts, stating, “While we have much work to do, we are proud of the role Snapchat plays in helping teenagers feel connected to friends during the challenges of adolescence, feeling happy and prepared.” A representative from Google stated in a statement that these allegations are “not true.”
Regarding these types of lawsuits, some netizens have posted comments indicating that blame should be placed on certain parents rather than social media companies, as these parents pay the bills for their children and grant full permission for them to access social media platforms.
Chinese parents see significance in this lawsuit, with Mrs. Li from the Bethpage school district on Long Island telling Epoch Times in an interview that her child is currently in middle school and does not have the habit of bringing a cell phone to school. However, to prevent exposure to harmful social media content, the internet at home is turned off during specific hours each day, and she emphasizes enhancing her child’s ability to discern right from wrong on regular weekdays.
She believes that the lawsuit filed by the Long Island school districts against social media giants is “meaningful” in providing legal constraints to protect children’s internet usage rights. However, she also thinks that schools and parents should “limit cell phone usage based on the characteristics of children at different ages.”