A 17-year-old dies by suicide allegedly over Instagram, Snapchat addiction 

Christopher J. Dawley of Wisonsin, shot himself dead with a 22-caliber rifle on January 4, 2015. Before killing himself, he texted his friend  "God speed,” and posted "Who turned out the light?" on his Facebook page,

Parents of a 17-year-old boy have accused social media companies after their son died by suicide over Instagram and Snapchat addiction. The boy had committed suicide seven years ago after getting addicted to social media, a lawsuit claimed.

Christopher J. Dawley of Wisonsin, shot himself dead with a 22-caliber rifle on Jan. 4, 2015. Before killing himself, he texted his friend "God speed,” and posted "Who turned out the light?" on his Facebook page, Social Media Victims Law Center (SMVLC) revealed. Seven years after his death, his parents have now sued the social media companies.

The lawsuit, which holds the social media sites for driving the teen to suicide, has claimed that the Meta platforms have purposefully designed dangerous social media products. “Congressional testimony has shown that both Meta Platforms and Snapchat were aware of the addictive nature of their products and failed to protect minors in the name of more clicks and additional revenue,” said Matthew P. Bergman, founder of SMVLC. “We are calling on the parent companies of Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat to prioritize the health and wellness of its users by implementing safeguards to protect minors from the danger of cyberbullying and sexual exploitation that run rampant on their platforms.”

The teen was so addicted to social media that he would be up till 3 am and chat with his friends. The report stated that he used social media "at all hours of the night — often until 3 a.m. on school nights.” As a result of which, he got very little sleep, which further led to sleep deprivation, increased obsession with the way he looked and exchanges of explicit photographs with other users. Although he never showed any sign of depression, believed his body was permanently deficient after develping pain in his legs.

The parents have alleged in the lawsuit that “Meta has invested billions of dollars to intentionally design and develop their products to encourage, enable and push content to teens and children that are problematic and highly detrimental to the mental health of minor users”