Seattle Public Schools recently filed a lawsuit in US District Court of Washington alleging that the tech giants behind TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Snapchat should be held accountable for a “mental health crisis” among the youth attending their schools, reported Jurist.
The school district argued that the “excessive and
problematic” use of social media among students has resulted in widespread
financial and operational damage to the school district while social media
companies profit.
The lawsuit alleges that the district has been
forced to expend resources on additional services as a result of this crisis,
including providing counseling services to students, creating lesson plans
around the dangers of using these platforms, and investigating online social
media threats made against the schools and their students. Further, the suit
highlights the impact that this has had on their ability to carry out their
educational functions:
Students experiencing anxiety, depression, and other
mental health issues perform worse in school, are less likely to attend school,
more likely to engage in substance use, and to act out, all of which directly
affects Seattle Public Schools’ ability to fulfill its educational mission.
The complaint also asserts that “This mental health
crisis is no accident,” claiming that the defendants consciously took action to
design and market their platforms to attract young users.
In a statement on
the suit, the district highlighted some of the statistics behind their claim,
including the fact that one in five children aged 13 to 17 now suffer from a
mental health disorder. Seattle Public Schools also noted that, according to
the latest data, almost 50 percent of teenagers in the state spend between one
and three hours a day on social media, while 30 percent average more than three
hours a day. The statement claims:
The evidence is equally clear that social media
companies have designed their platforms to maximize the time youth spend using
them and addict youth to their platforms […] More than 90% of youth today use
social media […] The increase in suicides, attempted suicides, and
mental-health related ER visits is no coincidence.
Although many have criticized the
negative effect of social media on youth mental health, Seattle Public School’s
suit appears to be the first of its kind to be filed by a school district.
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