She has been saying that social media platforms have developed algorithms, AI, and recommendation technology to keep users glued to the screen, keeping them curious, and creating a sense of missing something by continuously showing them one video after another.
What you should know
Not everyone is immune to the influence of social media these days. Some are using it appropriately and taking advantage of it, while others have become mentally victimized by it.
The victims are addicted to apps like Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat. A 19-year-old girl from California, USA, has filed a lawsuit against various social media platforms after suffering mental damage.
The Los Angeles County Superior Court is hearing the case after the girl, who has been named 'KGM', filed a lawsuit claiming that the social media platform has caused her to suffer from a serious mental illness.
A 6- to 8-week 'jury trial' is scheduled to be held on how apps like Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat are designed, whether they have technology that keeps users glued to the screen, and whether these apps are responsible for mental health problems.
In the lawsuit filed in 2023, the victim KGM stated that she had been watching YouTube since the age of 6 and started enjoying Instagram when she was 9, but that enjoyment gradually turned into an addiction. She then told the court during the preliminary hearing that she had to go through depression, self-harm and suicidal thoughts.
She has been saying that social media platforms have developed algorithms, AI and recommendation technology to keep users glued to the screen by continuously showing one video after another, making them curious and creating a feeling that they have missed something. She argues that she fell into the trap of the apps because they were designed to attract the user's attention.
'When I was in secondary school, I was not allowed to use my phone in the classroom or other places, so I would secretly go to the counselor's office and use my phone even for a moment,' KGM said in her statement, 'I now regret using such a social media app.'
The documents submitted by the girl's mother to the court also state that 'when the phone was snatched from her daughter's hand, she would cry and scream as if someone had died,' according to international media reports.
Like the tobacco-smoking mother, KGM has experienced the ups and downs of social media users who open the app every now and then. She has blamed social media apps for her depression and suicidal thoughts.
Reuters reported that TikTok had secretly reached a settlement with her just before the hearing of the case began. Earlier, Snapchat's parent company Snap had also decided to withdraw from the trial by reaching an agreement with the victim girl.
The details of the settlement have not been made public. Facebook's parent company Meta and Google's YouTube are now expected to appear as defendants in this legal battle.
A detailed story, including the ongoing court debate on the mental damage that social media can cause to a person's life, has been published in today's Kantipur Daily. Click here to read the full story.
