By Delaney Szekely, Senior Editor
Technology is intertwined in every facet of our lives, personally and professionally. The advent of mobile smartphones facilitated ever-present connections between users and the online world. The emergence of social media apps and websites, such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, provide users a seamless way to share updates about their lives, as well as access to what other users share about their own. It is reported that on average, globally, users spend almost two and a half hours on social media sites daily.[1] Across generations, all users report their primary motivation for using social media is staying connected with family and friends.[2] However, there is a stark departure for secondary reasoning between younger and older generations.[3] Whereas older users also justify their media usage by staying up to date on the news, young users seek out content to remain updated on current trends through posted content.[4]
While mobile technology provides ample benefits, such as ease and quicker communication to nearly anywhere in the world, there are also detriments to a constantly connected world. While technology use is present across age groups, one group is particularly at risk: teens. Indeed, 46% of teens reported that their internet use is nearly constant.[5] Further, 95% of teens reported they had access to a smartphone and 70% have access to smart tablets.[6] With such prevalent online presence and ease of access to devices, young people are at a substantial risk to develop social media addiction.[7]
Social media addiction is “an excessive and compulsive use of social networking sites, which disrupts daily life and personal well-being.”[8] The symptoms of social media addiction include frequent checking of social media, prolonged use of social media, limiting offline activities, mood changes when going without social media, and withdrawal.[9] These symptoms can compound with existing mental health disorders, such as anxiety and depression.[10] Social media addiction has also been linked to suicide and suicidal ideation in teens.[11] Other detrimental side effects are worsened sleep, declined academic performance, lowered self-esteem, and increased weight.[12]
Studies also reveal social media addiction tends to be more detrimental to young girls because not only do they tend to use social media at a higher rate than their male peers, but also because of their emotional investment in their online accounts.[13] Thus, young girls tend to experience negative feelings, which they internalize, when their posts “aren’t well-received by their peers.”[14] Further, young women are more susceptible to develop “body image problems and disordered eating behaviors” because they more readily compare themselves to others’ social media posts.[15]
While social media addiction can impact people of all ages, it occurs at a higher rate among younger generations.[16] The World Health Organization reports that 11% of teenagers exhibit “problematic social media use.”[17] Scientists explain that younger audiences are at a higher risk of developing social media addiction because their brains are still developing.[18]
Social media addiction can be crippling to children aged 13 to 18 because of the impact social media has on peer relationships. While younger users acknowledge that social media connects them with communities they otherwise would not access in-person, there are still shortcomings to these methods of communication.[19] Mainly, online communication is simply not the same as in-person communication.[20] Studies show that the loss of physical presence impacts relationship development because online communication does not have the same synchronicity and spontaneity, which enriches in-person communication.[21] Additionally, while users are connected online, in reality, they are still alone.[22] Thus, despite seemingly unlimited access to others, social media tends to be incredibly isolating.[23] Further, social media can be so detrimental in this age group because it can confirm one of a young person’s worst fears: exclusion.[24]
Another contributing factor to social media addiction is the actual platform design.[25] Social media engagement triggers reward and impulse centers in the brain.[26] When these centers are engaged, the brain releases dopamine, which gives the user a positive feeling, encouraging the continued behavior for the reward.[27] Alarmingly, studies have found that prolonged exposure to social media can cause changes in the brain’s structure, similar to the changes seen in brains with other substance addictions.[28] Such structural developments can impact a myriad of functions such as “impulse control, social behavior, emotional regulation and sensitivity to social punishments and rewards.”[29]
Given the emerging research about and concern for social media addiction, especially in younger users, questions about the culpability of social media companies have been raised. While many lawsuits have been brought against the companies that own popular social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok, they often failed to find such liability.[30] However, that all changed in the landmark case, K.G.M. v. Meta Platforms, Inc..[31] For a more detailed history on the failure of previous social media liability cases and a more detailed analysis of K.G.M. v. Meta et al., please see Kaushik Srinath’s article, When Likes Turn to Liability in the Juris Blog.
The plaintiff, going by her initials, K.G.M., sought to hold social media giants responsible for the harm their products caused.[32] She initially sued Meta and Google in July 2023 alleging that the companies contributed to her addictive use of Instagram and YouTube, their social media sites respectively, since she was six years old.[33] She also sued TikTok and Snapchat, both settled before trial.[34] As a result of her compulsive social media usage, she was plagued with “anxiety, depression, body dysmorphia, and. . . suicidal ideations.”[35] All of which affected her self-worth and negatively impacted her relationship with her family.[36]
She alleged that features like “infinite scroll, constant notifications, autoplay, [and] algorithmic recommendations” were intentionally included to facilitate addiction because it encouraged continued usage of the product.[37] Additionally, she questioned the adequacy age verification and parental controls to protect younger users.[38] During the trial she put forth evidence that proved both companies “knew about and discussed the addictive effects of their products on children.”[39] Evidence also proved not only did the companies know about the addictive effects, but they also deliberately designed their products with the intention of attracting and addicting young audiences.[40]
After a nearly month-long trial, the jury returned a $6 million verdict in favor of K.G.M., marking “the first time social media apps. . .[were] treated as defective products” because of their deliberative addictive design.[41] However, both Meta and YouTube are continuing to explore their legal options following this verdict.[42] The importance of this case’s success cannot be understated as thousands more cases on similar grounds await decision.[43] All in all, the novel approach of attributing liability via the platforms’ designs confirm what science has exemplified social media is addicting.
[1] Lyndon Seitz, Average Time Spent on Social Media Per Day in 2026, BroadbandSearch, https://www.broadbandsearch.net/blog/average-daily-time-on-social-media, (Mar. 4, 2026).
[2] Simon Kemp, Digital 2025: The State of Social Media in 2025, DataReportal, https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2025-sub-section-state-of-social, (Feb. 5, 2025).
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Pew Research Center, Teens and Internet, Device Access Fact Sheet, Pew Research Center, https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/teens-and-internet-device-access-fact-sheet/, (July 10, 2025).
[6] Id.
[7] The Lanier Law Firm, Social Media Addiction Statistics, The Lanier Law Firm, https://www.lanierlawfirm.com/product-liability/social-media-addiction-lawsuit/statistics/, (last visited Apr. 4, 2026).
[8] LAOP Editorial Team, Social Media Addiction: Symptoms, Causes, Effect, Diagnosis, And Treatment, Los Angeles Outpatient Center, https://laopcenter.com/mental-health/social-media-addiction/ (July 30, 2025).
[9] Id.
[10] Id.
[11] The Lanier Law Firm, supra note 6.
[12] LAOP Editorial Team, supra note 7.
[13] The Lanier Law Firm, supra note 6.
[14] Id.
[15] Id.
[16] Id.
[17] World Health Organization, New WHO report indicates need for healthier online habits among adolescents, World Health Organization, https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/25-09-2024-teens–screens-and-mental-health, (Sept. 25, 2024).
[18] LAOP Editorial Team, supra note 7.
[19] Carol Vidal and Jennifer Margaret Katzenstein, Social Media and Mental Health in Children and Teens, Johns Hopkins Medicine, https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/social-media-and-mental-health-in-children-and-teens#:~:text=Social%20isolation:%20Today’s%20children%20and,for%20more%20than%20an%20hour., (Sept. 25, 2026).
[20] Id.
[21] Abigail Dean, Online meetings have benefits – but in-person interaction remains irreplaceable, BYU psychologist says, BYU University Communications, https://news.byu.edu/intellect/online-meetings-have-benefits-but-in-person-interaction-remains-irreplaceable-byu-psychologist-says, (Feb. 12, 2026).
[22] Id.
[23] Vidal and Katzenstein, supra note 19.
[24] Id.
[25] The Lanier Law Firm, supra note 6.
[26] Id.
[27] Id.
[28] LAOP Editorial Team, supra note 7.
[29] Vidal and Katzenstein, supra note 19.
[30] Cecilia Kang, Ryan Mac, and Eli Tan, Meta and YouTube Found Negligent in Landmark Social Media Addiction Case, New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/25/technology/social-media-trial-verdict.html, (Mar. 25, 2026).
[31] Id.
[32] Crowell & Moring LLP, Landmark Verdicts Against Meta and YouTube Signal New Era of Social Media Platform Liability, Crowell, https://www.crowell.com/en/insights/client-alerts/landmark-verdicts-against-meta-and-youtube-signal-new-era-of-social-media-platform-liability, (Mar. 30, 2026).
[33] Id.
[34] Shanshan Dong and Angela Yang, Plaintiff in landmark social media trial testifies that apps affected her ‘self-worth,’ NBC News, https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/social-media-addiction-trial-plaintiff-testifies-depression-anxiety-rcna260851, (Feb. 26, 2026).
[35] Crowell & Moring LLP, supra note 32.
[36] Crowell & Moring LLP, Landmark Verdicts Against Meta and YouTube Signal New Era of Social Media Platform Liability, Crowell, https://www.crowell.com/en/insights/client-alerts/landmark-verdicts-against-meta-and-youtube-signal-new-era-of-social-media-platform-liability, (Mar. 30, 2026); Shanshan Dong and Angela Yang, Plaintiff in landmark social media trial testifies that apps affected her ‘self-worth,’ NBC News, https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/social-media-addiction-trial-plaintiff-testifies-depression-anxiety-rcna260851, (Feb. 26, 2026).
[37] Dong and Yang, supra note 34.
[38] Id.
[39] Crowell & Moring LLP, supra note 32.
[40] Id.
[41] Bobby Allyn, Jury finds Meta and Google negligent in social media harms trial, NPR, https://www.npr.org/2026/03/25/nx-s1-5746125/meta-youtube-social-media-trial-verdict, (Mar. 25, 2026).
[42] Cecilia Kang, Ryan Mac, and Eli Tan, Meta and YouTube Found Negligent in Landmark Social Media Addiction Case, New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/25/technology/social-media-trial-verdict.html, (Mar. 25, 2026); Bobby Allyn, Jury finds Meta and Google negligent in social media harms trial, NPR, https://www.npr.org/2026/03/25/nx-s1-5746125/meta-youtube-social-media-trial-verdict, (Mar. 25, 2026).
[43] Allyn, supra note 41.