Experts say youth social media addiction is rising, but definitions, diagnosis, treatment standards, and its true scope remain unclear.
LOS ANGELES–In the third week of a historical jury trial considering whether social media companies have engineered their platforms to addict young people despite knowing the potential harms, attorneys sparred over what a young plaintiff’s therapy records might reveal about her social media use and mental health.
So far, the jury has heard theoretical arguments and seen forensic evidence, in the form of internal documents, largely centered on what the companies knew and when, and whether their actions, or lack thereof, constitute a “willful and conscious disregard for safety.”
On Feb. 25, testimony from a licensed family therapist inched closer to the personal story at the heart of the case—and highlighted a grey area underlying its core claims.
That story belongs to a 20-year-old California woman identified in court records as “K.G.M.” or “Kelsey G.M.,” who says she began using social media apps as a child, became addicted to them, and as a result suffered serious harms—including body dysmorphia, depression, and suicidal ideation.
In this bellwether trial, which will determine how thousands of related personal injury cases play out, Kelsey has been a stand-in for a generation that came of age in the digital era—and for an unprecedented youth mental health crisis that grew alongside it.
But, even as some experts say instances of social media addiction are skyrocketing among young people, the phenomenon is new enough that consensus about its meaning and implications is far from clear, diagnosis and treatment are not standardized, and a sense of its scope remains out of focus.
Anna Lembke, a psychiatrist and medical director of addiction medicine at Stanford University’s Medical School, testified as an expert witness for the plaintiff that around 40 percent of patients at the school’s adolescent recovery clinic—which historically treats mostly alcohol and drug abuse—are now presenting with social media addiction.
“There is a wealth of peer-reviewed literature and other publications from authoritative bodies validating that people can get addicted to social media,” Lembke said.
