- The family of a New York-based teen has sued Instagram for being too addictive.
- They are seeking $ 5 billion in damages and hoping to force Meta to ban some of its core features for users under 18.
- Meta is yet to respond but is expected to challenge the lawsuit.
The family of a 13-year-old New York teen is suing Meta for Instagram being too addictive. The teenager, who has been named AA for privacy reasons, already has a lawyer acting on their behalf file a class action lawsuit against the company on Monday.
The lawsuit claims that Instagram intentionally maintains a compulsive design that encourages teens to keep scrolling forever. The plaintiff is seeking $5 billion in damages and hoping to force the company to ban some of its core features for users under 18.
‘This country universally bans minor access to other addictive products, like tobacco and alcohol, because of the physical and psychological damage such products can inflict. Social media is no different, and Meta’s own documents prove that it knows its products harm.’ – Lawsuit Against Meta
It further added that despite being fully aware of the issue, Meta continues to ignore it. It has done nothing to limit young users’ access to its harmful features. Not only that, opening an Instagram account is super easy. You don’t even need parental consent.
About AA
Not much is known about the primary plaintiff except the fact AA is a 13-year-old teen from New York who started using Instagram at the young age of 10 and now spends about 5 hours every day on the app, including one hour before sleeping.
- Things have gotten so bad that she is unable to put away her phone. Even when doing her homework, she constantly checks her notifications.
- It has also disrupted her sleep cycle, causing her to stay up late which in turn forces her to rush through her tasks.
- Being away from her phone and not checking her notifications makes her anxious and she constantly feels like her friends are ignoring her if they don’t engage with her posts.
Sure, it’s partly the parent’s responsibility to fix this behavior. However, Instagram is equally to blame. The platform apparently doesn’t allow users below 13 yet AA was able to join at just 10. This goes on to show how insincere they are about vetting new users.
And AA is not the only one. Meta is well aware of the fact that more than 4 million users on its platforms are under 13 and yet it has done nothing to remove these accounts.
The EU had also launched a fresh investigation into Facebook and Instagram for ‘not doing enough to protect minor users‘ on the platform. The EU claimed that Meta exploits minors to promote addictive behavior.
Meta is yet to respond to the lawsuit but it’s expected to challenge it. When reached for a comment, the company shared the same response it has shared a hundred times before – Meta and its platforms take the well-being of its users very seriously and have designed numerous tools to keep teens safe online.
Is Instagram Really at Fault?
There’s no direct answer to this but yes, the company has surely made some questionable choices.
1. Doing Nothing
For example, despite being fully aware of the dangers of social media among young users, it made acquiring teenage users its number one agenda. This statement has been backed by several internal documents cited in the lawsuit.
In this pursuit, the company became so selfish that it reportedly dismissed internal and external reports that talked about how its addictive nature is harming its young users.
Arturo Bejar, an ex-Meta employee and a whistleblower, went on to accuse the Meta top management of doing nothing to protect minors, even when they knew everything. As per his claims, as many as 25% of 13 to 15-year-olds on Instagram have faced sexual advances.
2. Addictive Algorithm
Teenagers are also more susceptible to body image issues and Instagram did nothing but fuel that. Thanks to AI, content creators now use AI filters and set unattainable beauty standards which further hampers a growing teen’s self-image.
Its algorithm and an infinite scrolling feed are also to be blamed. There’s literally no end to the scrolling. Investigations also revealed that the algorithm intentionally pushes out content that triggers negative impulses in the user to keep them hooked.
For instance, if a teen is struggling with their first breakup, it will keep showing them breakup and betrayal-related posts to keep the unpleasant feeling flickering within them.
The lawsuit concludes by saying that Meta has managed to deceive the people and the authorities for long enough but it’s time to bring an end to this. Meta needs to be stopped or else it will continue to harm young users.
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