SAN DIEGO — Oceanside and Coronado Unified are joining a growing number of school districts nationwide in suing the country’s largest social media companies, arguing that their content algorithms and platform designs are addicting children and teens and have caused worsening anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts.
The two San Diego County districts are among 16 districts that filed suit against more than a dozen social media companies Wednesday in San Francisco federal court. The defendants include the tech companies that run Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, WhatsApp, YouTube and Google. The National City and Ramona districts are also plaintiffs in the suit.
The districts argue those companies have fueled a youth mental health epidemic that predates COVID-19 by targeting minors and designing apps in a way that entices people to use them for long periods of time. The plaintiffs cite app features such as likes, comments, rewards and read receipts that it says addicts users to collecting and waiting for social media interactions and effectively encourage them to compare themselves with their peers.