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Former U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah, Brett Tolman, discusses big tech in court over claims that social media is addictive in “The Bottom Line.”
An expert witness in a case brought by New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez against Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, testified that the design features of its social networking apps are addictive, comparing them to a “drug,” especially when they affect young people.
The landmark case, in which Torrez accuses Meta of exposing children to “sexual exploitation and mental health harm” through interactions on the platform, continued Tuesday in a New Mexico courtroom with witnesses.
Dr. Anna Lembke, a psychiatrist and professor at Stanford, told the court that after reviewing thousands of pages of internal documents and reviewing the social media companies’ own research, she determined that the design features of social media are addictive.
The mother of four, who is the highest-ranking person overseeing addiction initiatives at the university, defined addiction as “the continued and compulsive use of a substance or behavior despite harm to oneself or others.”
Lembke argued that Meta unfolds “Powerful” features like Instagram’s “infinite scrolling” and algorithms customized for you to stimulate the release of dopamine that “drugs human connection.”
An expert witness testified Tuesday that social media apps like Instagram are addictive, comparing them to a “drug,” especially when it affects young people. (Getty Images/Getty Images)
With social media addiction, Lembke said downstream harms include depression, anxiety, eating disorders, self-harm, loneliness, suicidal ideation, cyberbullying and sexual exploitation. Children, he added, are particularly prone to tantrums, screaming, threats of self-harm and insomnia.
After reviewing the Meta documents, Lembke argued that the tech giant is aware of social media addiction and has internally used the term “Problem Internet Use” as a synonym, indicating that the company is “working hard not to call it an addiction” or acknowledge the severity of the problem.
Lembke testified that individuals would rarely be able to self-identify a social media addiction and would require a specialized therapist to diagnose it.
She explained it a therapist someone who is not educated in the field of addiction may spend a lot of time talking about other things, or looking for underlying reasons, instead of targeting the addictive behavior.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez accuses Meta of exposing children to “sexual exploitation and mental health harm” through interactions on the platform. (Jemal Comtessa/Getty Images for Responsible Technology/Getty Images)
Having diagnosed people with social media addiction, Lembke said the identifiers are often frequency of use, loss of control, cravings and withdrawal, consequences and risk factors.
While teenagers are especially vulnerable because of their developing brains, Lembke said anyone can develop an addiction with enough exposure.
He added that social media can work neurologically like other addictive substances, especially in young people.
“A child growing up in a family that doesn’t feel supported or verbally abused, it would be natural to turn to a self-soothing mechanism,” Lembke said.
On Monday, a Meta security researcher also warned executives that there may be more than half a million cases of child sexual exploitation every day on social media platforms.
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It is unclear whether Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg will testify at the trial. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Citing internal Meta documents, Lembke said the company recognized that women are more likely to be vulnerable on social media.
She added that through her own clinical work, boys are more likely to game, while girls experience “negative social comparisons,” filter-driven body dysmorphia, and a greater need for validation and approval after seeing idealized bodies and faces that girls feel unable to measure up to.
He further criticized Instagram for providing “frictionless access”, noting that children often lie about their age during the platform’s “ineffective age verification” process and that their parental controls are too complex even for well-educated parents.
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Among other addictive qualities of Instagram appLembke described the notification tool as a powerful feature that “triggers” or induces desires to return to the platform. He added that the 24-hour time limit on stories creates a “fear of missing out,” or “FOMO,” that forces users to check the platform more frequently.
Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, is expected to be questioned in court on Wednesday.
Eric Revell of Fox News contributed to this report.
