Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is facing charges from an anonymous 20-year-old woman who claims to have mental health problems due to exposure to social media at the age of six. The trial, which began in February, in Los Angeles, is drawing attention to an issue many college-aged users of social media may find themselves dealing with.
College of DuPage (COD) student Cillian Ensico said she’s prone to heavy use of social media apps similar to the defendant. In a day, Ensico averages five to eight hours a day on social media. It’s had negative impacts on her academic life.
“I would be in class scrolling on Instagram instead of doing my work, and my grades would just take a huge plummet,” Ensico said. “I noticed when I deleted the apps, I would be much more productive because I wouldn’t immediately go onto Instagram and [arrive] late to school.”
The anonymous 20 year-old is not the only one with this experience. According to an NBC news article, over 1,500 lawsuits remain pending. This includes young adults who developed mental health issues and families whose children committed suicide due to being exposed to social media. Parents of children who committed suicide gathered at the court to support the defendant’s side of the Social Media Addiction trial.
The decision of the court case may be determined by whether the term “social media addiction” is a legitimate issue and caused by social media apps, like Instagram. According to Medical News Today, “Social media addiction is when a person feels an extreme compulsion to log in or use social media.”
Although the case was to identify the problem of social media apps enforcing addictive behaviors, Zuckerberg did not comment on social media addiction itself. He made his defense centered around his “regret” for failing to enforce the age limit of 13 on his social media platforms. Zuckerberg claimed to be doing everything in his power to enforce the age limits to keep his youngest users safe.
During his testimony, Zuckerberg spoke about phone manufacturers holding more responsibility. He said social media enforces connections rather than addiction and that there is no evidence to support the link between social media and mental health.
There are claims and studies arguing against Zuckerberg, saying social media is made to be addictive. According to a Stanford article, Dr. Anna Lembke claims in her book, Dopamine Nation, social media releases high amounts of dopamine. Lembke claims social media is intentionally designed to have the same effects as other addictive substances, like drugs and alcohol, supporting compulsive behaviors. Studies against Zuckerberg’s claim of social media and mental health having no link suggest how social media can increase the risk of anxiety, depression, loneliness and loss of sleep. Sources supporting this claim include the National Library of Medicine, Stanford Law School, Psychology Today and more studies. Some are accessible at research websites such as the COD Library website.
COD social worker Dana Thompson said social media can trigger similar behaviors as other addictive substances.
“I know from just my own personal experience with a younger child,” she said. “There’s an agitation when you take away their electronic device that has social media on it or [when] you turn it off using screen time.”
Like a drug, people who lose access to social media can display signs of withdrawal, Thompson said.
According to Social Media Victim, social media addiction is a legitimate problem, and social media withdrawal is a problem, too. When someone is dependent on social media and then deprived of it, it causes strong urges to use social media, increasing boredom and significant shifts in mood.
The majority of lawsuits pending against Zuckerberg are from teens and young adults. This is because social media addiction and dependency are more prominent in Generation Z.
According to Jefferson Health, teens and emerging adults, like people starting in college, are more susceptible to social media addiction. This is because teens’ social skills are rapidly developing. The overuse of social media at a young age can lead to addictive behaviors and mental health disorders.
Ensico said social media affects her mental health regularly when she uses various apps.
“You’re having a great day, you open up the app, and the first thing you see is this new terrible thing that happened, and you can’t do anything about it,” Ensico says. “I think it really does affect my mood on a day-to-day. I do think that the days that I’m not on social media are the days that I’m the happiest.”
Thompson notices this addictive pattern not exclusively in her personal life, but also at COD.
“I see in my own class students constantly picking up their phones,” she said,” [I see] they’re checking text messages, (and) they’re scrolling. I see people in the hallway, and they’re always walking down the hall with their phones in their hands. I’m guilty of that myself.”
Thompson mentions the process of witnessing students constantly scrolling. Doomscrolling is the process of continuous scrolling on endless feeds due to negativity bias, fear of missing out or control seeking. These factors give users the compulsion to keep using their social media app.
Ensico said she also notices positive changes in her mood when she is without social media, as she frequently fell into the habit of doomscrolling.
“I did notice if I had the apps taken away from me I was doing well, but if I did have them I was procrastinating so much. I really felt like my brain was rotting, and I just wasn’t doing anything but doomscrolling.”
The lawsuit against Zuckerberg regarding social media addiction is still pending. It is exploring whether Meta’s products are designed to be addictive. The case is dependent on whether there is evidence Meta is directly responsible for psychological harm or if the users, parents or the phone manufacturers are to blame instead, or if there was a preexisting mental disorder in the defendant.
To combat social media addiction, or any other mental health related problems, contact COD’s counseling services by calling at (630) 942-3330 or visit on main campus at SSC 3341.
