Baird Mandalas Brockstedt, LLC Social Media

We are representing school districts across the country that have filed lawsuits against social media companies over the costs associated with supporting students’ increasing needs for mental, behavioral, and emotional health resources. Addictive social media products are driving a nationwide youth mental health crisis, and school districts are at the forefront of tackling this pressing issue. With so many young people in turmoil, schools have been forced to divert crucial resources to help students in need of mental health services.

• Prince George’s Co. schools sue TikTok, other social media sites
• Prince George’s County Public Schools officially sues Facebook, TikTok, and Snapchat
• TPG County Schools Sue TikTok, Meta, Others Over Mental Health Impact
• Prince George's Schools Sue Social Media Companies Over Mental Health Effects
  •  "What we're dealing with is the four major social media platforms who really have infiltrated teenage students and children in middle school with algorithms, and certainly with design features, that have brought content that have led to children becoming addicted to social media," Philip Federico, an attorney representing the school district, told News4.

    According to Federico, schools have seen "image problems, eating disorders, anxiety, depression, and the like" as a result of "social media addiction."

• Prince George’s County Public Schools Join Litigation Against Social Media Giants for Negative Impact on Student Mental Health

SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION

American children and teenagers are facing an unprecedented mental health epidemic, with top researchers and government agencies observing a dramatic increase in youth mental health crises over the course of the last decade. According to the most recent data from the CDC’s bi-annual Youth Risk Behavior Survey, in 2021, 42% of high school students experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, up from 28% in 2011.

Source: CDC U.S. Teen Girls Experiencing Increased Sadness and Violence (https://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/2023/increased-sadness-and-violence-press-release.html)

This decline in youth mental health has been directly correlated with the widespread adoption of social media. The connection here is an overuse of social media caused by apps designed to addict kids. Social media companies are intentionally designing their products to keep children engaged as long as possible and, in many cases, leading them to dangerous content affecting their mental health. Young people are particularly susceptible to the devastating consequences of overreliance on social media such as depression, self-harm, eating disorders, suicide contemplation, and actual suicide attempts.

To seek justice and hold these social media giants accountable, we are now turning to our justice system to pressure social media companies to address the physical and psychological harm children have suffered as a result of social media addiction.

HOW WE CAN HELP YOU

Social media companies, including Meta, Google, ByteDance, and Snap, which own and operate the largest social media platforms in the world are facing wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits. This litigation is filed on behalf of minors affected by the severe mental and physical harms caused by their products, including mental health problems, eating disorders, and suicide.

We are currently representing over two dozen school districts across the country, including Prince George’s County and Harford County Public Schools in Maryland. The lawsuits seek both monetary damages and injunctive relief, which would require social media companies to make changes to their addictive algorithms and other adjustments to the designs of their products.

BMBFC attorneys are reviewing these accusations to help support impacted children, families, and schools in their search for answers. BMBFC is prepared to help hold social media companies accountable.