By: Katie LePage
Over the past few years, society has witnessed social media transform into a double-edged sword; on one hand, platforms provide users with an outlet to express themselves, on the other hand, they can be extremely harmful to users’ mental health. For some social media users, their brains receive a release of dopamine when they receive some sort of notification, such as a like or comment. This dangerous reward-seeking cycle is what keeps many users hooked on these platforms, with teen users spending an average of 3 hours a day scrolling through social media, some spending even up to 9 hours. Between 2010 and 2018, the number of youths struggling with mental health issues has steadily increased, making suicide the second leading cause in death for youths. In an attempt to hold these platforms responsible for their consequences, Seattle Public Schools filed a lawsuit against big tech giants such as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, alleging that these platforms have created a public nuisance because they have worsened students’ mental health, hindering on the schools’ ability to educate.
The first social media platform, Bulletin Board System (BBS), can be dated back to 1978. BBS was a computer server running software that allowed users to leave messages that others could see later when they dialed into BBS. Although this platform is far different from what we know today, this was the first system where users could communicate through a central system, download files, and play games. However, once the world wide web launched in the 1990’s, BBS and other similar platforms would soon become extinct as society entered into a new era of social media platforms such as Friendster, LinkedIn, Myspace, and Facebook, where users could create profiles of themselves and communicate with others.
In 2003, Myspace became the first platform to gain popularity and was well known for its “top friends” feature, where users were required to rank their top 8 or 16 friends, which would be displayed on their profile for all to see. According to therapist David Lees, “[a]ny ranking or a hierarchical system like this promotes a comparing, judgmental, critical and unhealthy environment.” I was about 13 years old when I began using Myspace and to this day, I vividly remember the gut-wrenching feeling of checking one of my friends’ profiles and seeing that my ranking was lower than it previously was or worse, I was completely removed from their top friends. Many of Lees’ clients suffer from low self-esteem and hold the belief that they “are not good enough,” which Lees states that “[m]ost of our belief system is formed from our early childhood and into our teenage years,” which include one’s environment, experiences, and peer influence. Myspace was soon replaced in 2009 by Facebook (now known as “Meta”), which allows users to post pictures and status updates about their lives. While this platform appears to have been an upgrade from the toxic culture promoted by Myspace, this was far from the case once Formspring became popular. Formspring was a platform where users would provide a link for their followers on other social media platforms to ask them a question with the option of remaining completely anonymous. This anonymous Q&A forum not only amplified cyberbullying, but was also associated with multiple teen suicides.
While today’s users are no longer exposed to the toxicity of Formspring or Myspace’s “top friends” feature, social media platforms have only continued to evolve, designing features that continue to promote comparison and judgment, just a little less obvious. As platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat emerged, users were supplied with modernized tools that display the number of “likes” a user gets on their photos, the number of followers the user has, and/or provide filters that alter one’s appearance, which only continue to promote comparison and judgment. These tools continue to reinforce unhealthy environments because typically, users only publicize their “best moments,” which can result in an unrealistic portrayal of their lives and appearances. Many social media users have developed anxiety, depression, or eating disorders as a result of comparing the number of “likes” their picture got to that of someone else, questioning why one of their friends did not “like” or “comment” on their picture, or scrolling online and realizing they have been excluded from an activity.
As many patiently await SCOTUS’s decision surrounding Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, which provides platforms with immunity from liability resulting from third party users’ posts on their platform, a school district in Seattle decided to waste no time. On January 6, 2023, Seattle Public School District sued Meta Platforms Inc., and other tech giants such as TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat, alleging that they have created a public nuisance because their platforms have brought about a mental health crisis amongst the youth, which is directly impacting Seattle Public Schools’ ability to educate their students. The District claims that the platforms are designed to exploit their users into spending more time on their platforms, which has increased the number of youth struggling with mental health and behavioral disorders such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and suicidal thoughts. The District asserts that these students are less likely to perform well in school and attend classes, and are more likely to act out or turn to drugs and alcohol. As a result, the District was forced to take additional steps in hiring extra mental health counselors. Although tech giants maintain that their platforms are supplied with tools to ensure the safety of young users, a former Meta employee revealed information demonstrating that this was far from the truth.
In October of 2021, Frances Haugen, Meta’s former product manager for civic misinformation, stated that although Meta was not formed with the intent to create harmful products, the platform has routinely prioritized its own interests in making money over public safety. Haugen revealed documents indicating that Meta was aware of the damage Instagram was causing to teen mental health and that 30% of teens felt that Instagram made them feel worse about their bodies. A 2018 study found that “validation from likes on social media stimulates the brain similar to how cocaine does, just not as intensely.” Additional studies have shown that children who spend more than two hours a day on social media are more likely to develop mental health problems and suicidal thoughts. As society begins to recognize the detrimental effects social media can have on any individual, lawmakers must take action and hold these platforms responsible for the damage they have and continue to cause.
Student Bio: Katie LePage is a second-year full time student at Suffolk University Law School. She is a staff writer on the Journal of High Technology Law. Katie is a graduate from Stonehill College, where she received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Criminology, with a minor in Sociology.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog are the views of the author alone and do not represent the views of JHTL or Suffolk University Law School.
