California woman suing Meta, YouTube testifies social media took toll on mental health

A young California woman suing Meta Platforms’ ​Instagram and Google’s YouTube testified on Thursday in a landmark trial

A young California woman suing Meta Platforms’ ​Instagram and Google’s YouTube testified on Thursday in a landmark trial that her childhood social media addiction left her anxious, depressed and insecure of her ‌own looks, yet unable to give up her cellphone without feeling further angst.

The plaintiff in the case, known in ​court as Kaley G.M., 20, said her obsessive use of YouTube starting at age 6 and Instagram at ⁠age 9 also disrupted her school performance, robbed her of sleep, stunted her in-person social life and strained family relations.

Her mental health became so impaired, she told jurors, that she harboured suicidal thoughts and at age 10 began self-harming as a “coping mechanism to deal with my depression,” though she said she ‌never acted on an impulse to take her own life.

The case is part of a broader global backlash against social media companies over alleged harms to children and teens. Australia has banned under-16s from such platforms, and other countries ‌are considering similar restrictions.

Google and Meta have denied the allegations and said evidence in the case does not support the ‌woman’s ⁠claims.

Kaley testified her mother would occasionally take her cellphone away for periods of ⁠time, sparking fits of rage and heightened anxiety, and that even as an adult, she feels she can never give up social media.