NEW YORK CITY FILES A LAWSUIT SAYING SOCIAL MEDIA IS FUELING A YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS

New York City, its schools and public hospital system announced a lawsuit against the tech giants that run Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube, blaming their “addictive and dangerous” social media platforms for fueling a childhood mental health crisis that is disrupting learning and draining resources.

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Children and adolescents are especially susceptible to harm because their brains are not fully developed, the lawsuit said.

“Youth are now addicted to defendants’ platforms in droves,” according to the 311-page filing in Superior Court in California, where the companies are headquartered.

The country’s largest school district, with about 1 million students, has had to respond to disruptions in and out of the classroom, provide counseling for anxiety and depression, and develop curricula about the effects of social media and how to stay safe online, according to the filing. The city spends more than $100 million on youth mental health programs and services each year, Mayor Eric Adams’ office said.

“Over the past decade, we have seen just how addictive and overwhelming the online world can be, exposing our children to a non-stop stream of harmful content and fueling our national youth mental health crisis,” Adams said.