Lawsuits have been filed by angry parents who blame social media for their child’s suicide and other serious, life-threatening mental health problems.
What You Can Do & How We Can Help
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting social media induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you believe social media caused your child or teenager’s suicide, suicidal behavior, or mental health issues, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Social Media Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
UPDATE: Another Lawsuit Blames Snapchat for Teen Suicide
In June 2022, a lawsuit was filed against Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook) and Snap Inc. by the parents of Liam B., teenage boy in Tennessee who committed suicide after becoming addicted to social media. The lawsuit was filed on June 29, 2022 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (San Francisco Division) – Case Number 3:22-cv-03849-SK..
Social Media Suicide Lawsuits Filed Against Meta Platforms
In January 2022, a lawsuit was filed against Meta Platforms (the parent company of Facebook and Instagram) by the mother of an 11-year-old girl who committed suicide. The lawsuit claims that the girl “struggled for more than two years with an extreme addiction to Instagram and Snapchat,” which resulted in depression, sleep deprivation, eating disorders, self-harm and suicide.
Top Social Media Platforms
What is the Problem?
The use of social media by teenagers has grown dramatically over the past decade — and so too has the suicide rate for young people. Suicide is now the 2nd-leading cause of death for people ages 10 to 34 years old in the U.S., and social media use is at an all-time high.
There is a growing amount of evidence that social media can have damaging effects on a person’s mental health. These platforms were designed to help people connect to each other virtually, but the Photoshopped pictures and envious lifestyles of “influencers” can lead young people to develop a distorted idea of how life is supposed to be.
Algorithms Can Exacerbate Mental Health Issues
Another problem is the apps themselves. Social media platforms use algorithms and other information to fine-tune their feeds to deliver content that they think a user will enjoy.
For example, if a user likes a lot of pictures of cute dogs, they will see more and more cute dogs — but if a user is depressed or anorexic, they may see a lot of extremely skinny models and content that glorifies suicidal behaviors or death.
What is the Risk?
- Suicide
- Suicidal ideas or attempts
- Self-harm
- Depression
- Emotional disorders
- Eating disorders
- Body Dysmorphic Disorder
- Sexual abuse or exploitation
- Other mental health issues
- And more
Risks of Being Addicted to Social Media
The apps are designed to be fun, but they can also be addictive. A bored teenager can easily spend hours watching videos, posting, and interacting with content from friends and “influencers” they admire.
For vulnerable young people, the risks are obvious. They may become insecure, anxious, with low self-esteem, vulnerable to cyber-bullying, or sexual exploitation.
Social media addiction is especially dangerous for teenagers who are isolated, lonely, having a hard time with school or at home, and spending hours a day scrolling through toxic social media posts. They may fall into a black hole of depression that ends in a tragic suicide.
10-Year Study Links Social Media and Suicide Risk for Teens
In February 2021, the results of a 10-year study by researchers at BYU found that girls who used social media for 2-3 hours or more per day at the beginning of the study (when they were around 13 years old) had a significantly higher risk for suicide.
The researchers found a significantly higher risk of suicide among teens who used social media, and warned:
“For girls, a high level of social media or television use in early adolescence followed by a marked increase over time was most predictive of suicide risk in emerging adulthood.”
Source: Coyne, S.M., Hurst, J.L., Dyer, W.J. et al. Suicide Risk in Emerging Adulthood: Associations with Screen Time over 10 years. J Youth Adolescence 50, 2324–2338 (2021).
Do I have a Social Media Lawsuit?
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting social media induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you believe social media caused your child or teenager’s suicide, suicidal behavior, or mental health issues, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Social Media Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
Attention Lawyers: We consider a referral from another law firm to be one of the greatest compliments. If your firm is interested in referring us a case or for us to send you a list of previous award judgments and/or average referral fees, please visit the Lawyer Referral section of our website.
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC has been recognized as one of the nation’s leading plaintiffs' law firms and handles cases in all 50 states. We are very proud of our legal achievements, but equally self-respecting of our firm's reputation for providing personal attention to each and every client we represent.
