Landmark Social Media Addiction Trial Underway in Los Angeles

What Happened?

This week, a landmark trial began in Los Angeles in which citizens are suing social media platforms, including Meta, YouTube, and Instagram, for allegedly designing intentionally addictive systems.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs argue that social media companies deliberately designed and maintained addictive platforms to increase their revenue and visibility. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to testify, as are the heads of Instagram and YouTube.

Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, responded by claiming that even sixteen hours a day of usage did not prove that users were addicted to social media platforms.

Why it Matters

Social media usage, especially among minors, has become a major global issue due to claims that excessive social media use can cause a host of mental and physical problems.

Some countries, including most recently Australia, have passed legislation restricting access to social media for people under the age of eighteen. Despite skepticism from social media companies, there is mounting medical evidence that social media use meets clinical standards for addiction.

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Medically, addiction is a chemical dependency in the brain that can occur when too much dopamine is secreted over a long enough time period. Dopamine, which can create feelings of euphoria, is itself a chemical secreted by the brain whenever human beings engage in pleasurable activities, whether finding food, shelter, or a sexual partner.

When too much dopamine enters the brain over a long period of time, a person becomes hooked on the feelings it provides and craves more. That in turn requires even more dopamine, which repeats in a cycle until a person feels compelled to seek more dopamine highs even if they don’t want to. 

The involuntary compulsion to repeat behaviors to trigger the release of dopamine is what gambling, sex, and drug addicts experience when they find themselves unable to stop engaging in pleasure-seeking activities, even if those activities become harmful to themselves or others around them.

Viewing social media can also trigger the release of dopamine in the brain, and constant exposure can condition people to crave ever more dopamine hits, which compels them to view more and more content, even if it means missing work, school, or in-person social interactions. 

Social media platforms have pushed back against this argument partly on the grounds that no one is forced to view their platforms. But in the case of minors, social media executives have claimed that minors frequently lie about their age to access content intended only for adults. That is why many U.S. states have required more stringent age verification mechanisms, although these can still be easily defeated.

How it Affects You

The case will likely take several weeks to play out, but the outcome could transform the way social media is published and viewed in the United States. If the outcome is that social media companies did intentionally create addictive platforms, it could open them up to massive class action lawsuits.

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