A woman who sued Meta and YouTube for social media addiction is set to testify in court
On Wednesday, a young California woman will testify about how her childhood use on Meta Platforms' Instagram or Google's YouTube has affected her mental health. This is a landmark case in her social media addiction.
She was to 'take the witness stand after the testimony of a licensed therapist who treated Kaley G.M. for several months starting in 2019 when she was just 13 years old.
Victoria Burke, Kaley's therapist, testified in court that she first diagnosed her with generalized anxiety disorder but then revised the diagnosis to include both body dysmorphic and social phobia.
Burke did not draw any conclusions about whether Kaley's fear of rejection by her peers and social rejection was due to her use of social media, or her obsessive ruminations over her perceived flaws.
The therapist said Kaley complained often about "online bullying" by her peers. She recalled one instance where the girl told the therapist she had "deleted herself" from social media only to return later.
The plaintiff claims that she began using YouTube and Instagram when she was 6 years old. She also says that the platforms have contributed to mental disorders such as depression and body dysmorphia.
Her lawyers have cast their client as a victim of deliberate designs and business models that have sought to profit by hooking young children on advertising-supported online services despite knowing social media could undermine their ?mental health.
This case is part a global backlash against companies that operate social media sites over the alleged harm they cause to children and teenagers. Australia has banned?young users from these platforms and other countries have considered?similar restrictions.
The first part of the trial was centered on what companies knew about the impact social media has on children and their strategies for younger users. The focus of the trial changed on Wednesday to the woman’s allegations about how online services impacted her. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, testified that his company had discussed products for children but had never released them.
Kaley's attorneys will need to prove that the design or operation of the platforms by the companies was a significant factor in her mental health problems.
Meta's attorney said that her health records reveal a history of verbal abuse, physical abuse, and a strained relationship with her parents who divorced at the age of three.
Her lawyer cited a Meta study in which teens who were experiencing 'difficult circumstances' said that they used Instagram more frequently.
Her lawyers claim that features such as autoplaying videos and feeds that allow for an endless scrolling are designed to keep users on platforms longer despite the evidence that they harm younger users' mental wellbeing. The lawyer claimed that "like" buttons were designed to satisfy teenagers' desire for approval, while beauty filters distorted their self-image.
According to a court document, YouTube's lawyer said Kaley did not use features of the platform designed to protect its users from bullying. These included tools to delete comments or limit how long videos could be watched.
The attorney in court presented records showing that her average viewing time of YouTube Shorts is around 1 minute and 14 seconds per day. Her average time spent streaming YouTube videos over the last five years was about 29 minutes.
Burke said in testimony on Wednesday that 'the notion of social-media addiction has yet to emerge as a widespread phenomenon in her area, and is still not listed as a diagnostic in the latest edition of Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the authoritative guide for mental health professionals. Reporting by Jody Gooy and Steve Gorman, both in New York; Additional reporting from Courtney Rozen, Washington; Editing done by Aurora Ellis.
(source: Reuters)
