Image from a NYT video of parents, mostly those who’ve lost a child to suicide, who say or have evidence that social media was a major contributing factor to their child’s mental decline and ultimate death
Landmark Case Blames Social Media Platforms for Youth Mental Health Decline
In March of 2026, the court ruled in a landmark case that Meta and YouTube harmed a young California user, K.G.M, with a social media algorithm design that was addictive and led to her mental health distress, including body dysmorphia and thoughts of self-harm.
The argument was and is that these social media platforms are purposely targeting young people at their most vulnerable state of mind and in their most vulnerable time of brain development, hooking them with casino affect.
And they are in shocking and predatory ways. As a suicide prevention speaker, trainer, and advocate, I see how events on social media have been the “last straw” event that has pushed a vulnerable young person toward death by suicide.
In short, social media platforms want to keep people, especially our most vulnerable population, pre-teens and teens, on their platforms. For those under 16 whose brains are still developing, overexposure to social media is particularly dangerous. (María T. Maza, BS et al)
They do not care if your kid is bullied, gets trafficked, targeted by pedophiles, or kills himself.
They care about making money.
And they have proven they cannot be trusted.
We need to protect young, developing brains by adding an age restriction. And until there is legislation, we need to do our best to keep kids from being on these platforms and require digital literacy instruction before they are.
“In April 2017, a confidential document is leaked that Facebook offered advertisers the opportunity to target 13 to 17-year-olds across its platforms, including Instagram during moments of psychological vulnerability when they feel worthless, insecure, stressed, defeated, anxious, stupid useless, and like a failure or to target them when they’re worried about their bodies and thinking of losing weight basically when in a fragile emotional state…”
—From the book, Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn-Williams, a former director at Facebook
The other side, social media lawyers
They have argued that teen mental health is a complex issue, which it is, and that social media can’t be blamed for the decline in youth mental health.
While teen mental health has declined as smartphones and social media use have increased, and can be directly correlated to hours spent on social media platforms, it’s not the only contributing factor.
But most experts and even parents agree it’s a huge contributing factor. And it’s a start.
What’s more, we definitely believe the adoption of smartphones from flip phones by youth from 2010 to 2013, with a sharp rise in 2013, correlates with sharp increases in mental health issues in this age group, around this same time.
As a professional expert who spent decades in digital marketing, I have been noting internet trends, particularly among young people, since 2003, starting with surfing patterns. Later, I followed how tech companies, including search engines and social media platforms, altered their algorithms to swoop in on our youngest at their most vulnerable. I didn’t have proof other than what I was seeing. But now we have that evidence, and even kids themselves are telling us it’s harmful.
I did my 2019 TEDx on this subject.
I know my son found out online how to put together his instrument of death
My first passion project was to create a post online and a video that diverted people searching for ways to die and websites offering step-by-step instructions, to my pages, which offered hope and resources.
I do not have a huge following on YouTube yet, but one of my videos has over 100k views and over 3k comments, mostly from young people.
The exchange below was one of the more jarring ones. Many reach out after they watch it. It doesn’t give instructions, but talks about my son, and I answer every single comment. It doesn’t always work, but it works often enough. It didn’t on this occasion.
After that, I think you need a success story, too. I do have more messages like these.
Back to the social media age restriction
Video: “Smartphone Free Childhood US – ‘Let’s Change The Norm‘”
Australia took a bold step but added an age restriction for kids under 16.
While it will not solve everything, it’s a great start given that teens spend less time with one another and with family, since social media has become the primary form of entertainment, particularly for females.
So YES, I think there should be an age restriction. (I wouldn’t use the word ban.)
Algorithms, social media, and constant connectivity shape how kids see themselves, relate to others, and cope with stress.
“Any child who spends her sensitive period in social media will be shaped by that culture. A British study found direct evidence that puberty is a sensitive period for harm from social media.”
—From the book, The Anxious Generation, by Jonathan Haidt
During the pre-teen and teen years, there is an increased need for peer approval. This is called the conformity effect, which drives some adolescents to agree with or engage with what their friends have already commented on or liked.
So we have
- Conformity effect (aka conformist bias). Agree or engage with whatever peers are engaging with.
- Prestige bias: when people copy those whom everyone else looks up to (influencers)
The irony of social media is that the more you immerse yourself in and spend time in it, the lonelier and more depressed you become.
Sources:
- How Parenting and Self-Control Mediate the Link Between Social Media Use and Youth Mental Health, 2023
- The Anxious Generation. The Evidence
- Book: The Anxious Generation
- Book: Careless People
- The truth about teens, social media, and the mental health crisis, 2023, NPR
- Study: Specification curve analysis shows that social media use is linked to poor mental health, especially among girls
- Blog post by Dr. Twenge: Yes, we do know social media isn’t safe for kids, by Jean Twenge PhD
- Kids Who Get Smartphones Earlier Become Adults With Worse Mental Health
- Australia: Social media ban: what is it and what will it mean for young people?
- Video: “Smartphone Free Childhood US – ‘Let’s Change The Norm“
- Newspaper article: Meta and YouTube Found Negligent in Landmark Social Media Addiction Case
- Article: How much screen time is too much?
- Study: Association of Habitual Checking Behaviors on Social Media With Longitudinal Functional Brain Development
- Article: Study shows habitual checking of social media may impact young adolescents’ brain development
- APA Health Advisory: Health advisory on social media use in adolescence, American Psychological Association
- Article/Video Interview Haidt: Can We Save Kids from Social Media?
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AnneMoss Rogers is a leading wellness and suicide education expert and one of the top mental health speakers and suicide prevention speakers. Known for her powerful, motivational keynotes, AnneMoss combines her personal story of loss with proven strategies to help organizations build a wellness culture that drives results and saves lives. She speaks at conferences, workplaces, K-12 schools, and universities, delivering impactful presentations that inspire change and promote mental health awareness.
AnneMoss does this work in memory of her son, Charles, who struggled with anxiety, depression, and addiction, and died by suicide at age 20 in 2015.