Over recent years, the concern about social media and its exposure to young children has risen. Only just recently is noticeable action being taken. For example, New York City is suing popular social media platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok, and Facebook, and putting responsibility on them for an increase in mental health issues among young people. Mental health issues include depression and suicide ideation. Especially for teenage girls, mental health issues expand to those that involve damaging their body image. Although these social media platforms have tools to regulate screen time, it still isn’t enough before an addiction occurs, as these apps tend to have “addictive” features.
Many families have previously sued major social media companies, but this is the first major lawsuit that is occurring. As a result of the lawsuit, NYC is seeking monetary damages and relief to fund prevention education and mental health treatment, as it has cost the city $100 million in mental health programs each year. However, the difficulty in suing social media platforms is due to a federal law called Section 230, which states that technology companies cannot be held liable for the content that is posted by their users.
The rise in concern is significantly growing, and if no change occurs soon, then more young people could be impacted by the effects of social media.
My Opinion:
As a young woman, I would support the idea that social media does impact our mental health significantly. Scrolling through such social media platforms, I can understand why girls my age have developed eating disorders and other mental health problems. It’s extremely toxic, especially for very young children, and I feel that there should be more regulation in regards to social media, what is posted, who can access it, and at what age, etc.
