'We're basically pushers:' Two California courtrooms hear how companies may have hooked kids on social media

"The researcher concluded that users' addiction was "biological and psychological" and that company management was keen to exploit the dynamic. "The top down directives drive it all towards making sure people keep coming back for more," the researcher added. The conversation was included recently as part of a long-simmering lawsuit in a California-based federal court. Condensing complaints from hundreds of school districts and state attorneys general, including California's, the suit alleges that social media companies knew about risks to children and teens"

"The suit, and a similar one filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, targets Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Snap. The cases are exposing embarrassing internal conversations and findings at the companies, particularly Facebook and Instagram owner Meta, further tarnishing their brands in the public eye. They are also testing a particular vector of attack against the platforms, one that targets not so much alarming content as design and marketing decisions that accelerated harms."

Internal research and communications indicate that Instagram and other platforms encourage compulsive use that can be addictive for users, particularly teens. Company design choices and top-down directives reportedly push features and notifications that keep users returning, creating biological and psychological dependency. Lawsuits consolidated by school districts and attorneys general allege that platforms knew about risks to children and teens yet continued targeted marketing and product decisions that amplified harm. The legal actions target multiple major platforms and seek damages and structural changes to business practices to reduce harms tied to design-driven engagement and youth-targeted promotion.

Read at KPBS Public Media