Hours of endless scrolling, unfinished schoolwork, sleepless nights and growing anxiety have become familiar struggles in many homes. As more young people spend time on social media, many parents have found themselves pointing to one thing: the phone.
Apps like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat have become part of everyday life for millions of teenagers. But as concerns over youth mental health continue to grow, the companies behind these platforms are facing increasing scrutiny over whether their apps are designed to keep young people hooked.
Social media companies make money by keeping users online for as long as possible. Features such as endless scrolling, autoplay videos, personalised recommendations and constant notifications are designed to encourage people to keep watching, clicking and scrolling.
While these features make the apps more engaging, experts say they can also lead to unhealthy screen habits. A growing body of research has linked excessive social media use to anxiety, depression, stress, poor sleep and lower self-esteem among teenagers.
The concerns have now reached the courts.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp, is facing lawsuits from several U.S. states accusing it of putting profits ahead of children’s safety.
“Our lawsuit alleges Meta prioritized profits over the safety of kids and fueled the mental health crisis affecting a generation of American children,” a spokesperson for the California Attorney General’s Office said.
The lawsuits claim Facebook and Instagram were intentionally designed to encourage compulsive use, exposing young users to higher risks of anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicidal thoughts.
Meta is not the only company under pressure.
Google’s YouTube, Meta’s Instagram, Snap’s Snapchat and ByteDance’s TikTok have also been sued over claims that their platforms are intentionally addictive.
In one case, a 15-year-old claimed he had been using social media since he was eight years old and later developed social media addiction, sleep problems, anxiety and depression. The lawsuit argues that the platforms were deliberately built to keep children engaged for as long as possible.
Many of the legal cases focus on features such as endless scrolling, autoplay videos and frequent notifications, saying they encourage excessive use while exposing young people to mental health risks.
The lawsuits also accuse the companies of failing to clearly warn users about these risks and not giving parents enough tools to monitor their children’s online activity.
Meta has denied the allegations.
“We’ve resolved this case amicably and remain focused on building protections like Teen Accounts that help teens stay safe online while giving parents simple tools to support their families,” the company said in a previous statement.
The company says it has invested heavily in parental controls, safety features and age-appropriate experiences, while rejecting claims that its platforms are the main cause of mental health problems among young people.
Mental health experts say teenagers are especially vulnerable because their brains are still developing, making them more likely than adults to be influenced by peer pressure and rewarding online experiences.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says the relationship between social media and mental health works both ways. Spending too much time online can worsen anxiety and depression, while young people already struggling with their mental health may also be more likely to spend excessive time on social media.
Although the courts have yet to decide whether social media companies are legally responsible, the lawsuits have shifted the debate. The conversation is no longer only about how young people use social media, but also about whether the platforms themselves are doing enough to protect the wellbeing of their youngest users.
