California woman suing Meta, YouTube testifies social media took toll on mental health

By Steve Gorman

LOS ANGELES, Feb 26 (Reuters) – A young California woman suing Meta Platforms’ Instagram and Google’s YouTube testified on Thursday in a landmark trial that her childhood social media addiction left her anxious, depressed and insecure of her own looks, yet unable to give up her cellphone without feeling further angst.

The plaintiff in the case, known in court as Kaley G.M., 20, said her obsessive use of YouTube starting at age 6 and Instagram at age 9 also disrupted her school performance, robbed her of sleep, stunted her in-person social life and strained family relations.

Her mental health became so impaired, she told jurors, that she harbored suicidal thoughts and at age 10 began cutting herself as a “coping mechanism to deal with my depression,” though she said she never acted on an impulse to take her own life.

The case is part of a broader global backlash against social media companies over alleged harms to children and teens. Australia has banned under-16s from such platforms, and other countries are considering similar restrictions.

Google and Meta have denied the allegations and said evidence in the case does not support the woman’s claims.

‘TOO HARD TO BE WITHOUT IT’

Kaley testified her mother would occasionally take her cellphone away for periods of time, sparking fits of rage and heightened anxiety, and that even as an adult, she feels she can never give up social media.

“I can’t, it’s too hard to be without it,” she said under questioning from her lawyer in Los Angeles County Superior Court, in a case testing whether Big Tech can be held liable for the design of apps widely blamed for fueling a mental health crisis among young people.

Asked by her attorney Mark Lanier why she felt she needed her cellphone back so desperately when her mother seized it, she replied: “Because without it I felt a huge part of me was missing, and if I didn’t have it I would be missing out on something, and it would send me into a panic.”

Kaley said she came to depend on social media for validation and connection, despite frequent online bullying, but said being off social media “bothered me more” than insulting commentary she would see.

The main claim of the lawsuit, first brought by her mother two years ago before Kaley turned 18, is that Meta and Google are seeking to profit by hooking young children on their services despite knowing social media could impair their mental and behavioral well-being.

The plaintiff took the stand a day after her former psychotherapist, who treated Kaley for several months at ages 13 and 14, testified that excessive social media usage was a “contributing factor” to her mental health issues, which were then diagnosed as social phobia and body dysmorphic disorder.

The trial, which began in late January, has also focused on what the companies knew about how social media affects children and their business strategies related to younger users. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified the company discussed but never launched products for children.

To win the case, Kaley’s lawyers must show that the way the companies designed or operated the platforms was a substantial factor in causing or worsening her mental health issues.

QUESTIONS OF HOME LIFE

Kaley’s health records show a history of verbal and physical abuse and a fraught relationship with her parents, who divorced when she was 3, Meta’s lawyer said in opening statements. Kaley’s mother is expected to give evidence following her daughter’s testimony.

On the witness stand on Thursday, Kaley said her mom was at times abusive and had hit her, but said her mother, who was working and raising three kids, was a nurturing, loving parent with whom she lives and remains extremely close.

Kaley works as a personal shopper at Walmart and holds an associate degree in communications, with ambitions to obtain a bachelor’s degree and work in social media.

Her lawyer has pointed to a recent internal study by Meta showing teens with difficult life circumstances more often used Instagram habitually or unintentionally.

Features such as videos that autoplay and a feed that allows for endless scrolling were designed to keep users on the platforms, despite evidence of harm to younger users’ mental health, her lawyers allege. “Like” buttons catered to teenagers’ need for validation while beauty filters warped their self-image, the lawyer said.

YouTube’s lawyer said Kaley failed to use platform features designed to protect users from bullying, including tools to delete comments and limit time spent watching videos, according to a court filing. 

(Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Courtney Rozen in Washington and Jody Godoy in New York; Editing by Rod Nickel)