Expert testifies Meta social media features are addictive ‘drug’ in lawsuit
Former U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah Brett Tolman discusses big tech in court over claims social media is addictive on ‘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 media apps are addictive, likening them to a “drug,” especially when affecting youth.
The landmark case, in which Torrez accuses Meta of exposing children to “sexual exploitation and mental health harm” through interactions on the platform, continued in a New Mexico courtroom Tuesday with witness testimony.
Dr. Anna Lembke, psychiatrist and Stanford professor, told the court after reviewing thousands of pages of internal documents and reviewing social media companies’ own research, she determined 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, compulsive use of a substance or a behavior despite harm to self or others.”
Lembke argued that Meta deploys “potent” features, such as Instagram’s “infinite scroll” and tailored-for-you algorithms, to stimulate dopamine release that “drugifies human connection.”
An expert witness testified Tuesday that social media apps such as Instagram are addictive, likening them to a “drug,” especially when affecting youth. (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, she added, are especially prone to rage attacks, screaming, threats of self-harm and insomnia.
After reviewing Meta documents, Lembke argued that the tech giant is aware of social media addiction and has used the term “Problematic Internet Use” internally as a synonym, indicating that the company is “working hard not to call it addiction” or acknowledge the gravity of the issue.
Lembke testified that individuals would rarely be able to self-identify a social media addiction and would require a skilled therapist to diagnose it.
She explained that a therapist who is not educated in the field of addiction may spend a lot of time talking about other things, or looking for underlying reasons, rather than targeting the addictive behavior.
META RESEARCHER WARNED OF 500K CHILD EXPLOITATION CASES DAILY ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM PLATFORMS
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez accuses Meta of exposing children to “sexual exploitation and mental health harm” through interactions on the platform. (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Accountable Tech / Getty Images)
Having diagnosed people with social media addiction, Lembke said identifiers are typically frequency of use, loss of control,…
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