Why Social Media Can Be Dangerous for Your Child

Adolescence has its many challenges, but unfortunately, these common growing pains are further exacerbated by stressors that arise from effects or pressures of social media. More specifically, the issues surrounding social media addiction and how it negatively impacts children and young adults as they develop. Multiple lawsuits have covered the underlying issues surrounding social media addiction and how mega-companies like Meta, the owners of Facebook and Instagram, have used their algorithms and A.I. to target and prey on the insecurities of vulnerable teens and young adults.

In 2021, Frances Haugen, a former Facebook employee and now whistleblower, testified before a U.S. Senate committee, accusing the company of ignoring the harm caused by its social platforms. Haugen went on record and told committee members, “Facebook knows that they are leading young users to anorexia content.” Then again, on June 6, 2022, a lawsuit was filed against the social media company Meta known as Alexis, Kathleen, and Jeffrey Spence v. Meta Platforms, Inc., when 11-year-old Alexis Spence developed an eating disorder due to social media use. Unfortunately, Alexis isn’t the only one suffering from the harmful effects of social media addiction. According to research in a spring 2020 slide presentation posted to Facebook’s internal message board, “Thirty-two percent of girls under the age of 26 said that when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse.”