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Nation's top doctor says social media could pose risk to kids; Seattle Public Schools calls it an edge for their lawsuit

Since suing the social media giants in January, Seattle Public Schools has been joined by about 100 other school districts, according to their attorney.

SEATTLE — Seattle Public Schools' (SPS) legal counsel told KING 5 Tuesday they are thrilled to see their messaging echoed in a new public health advisory by U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy.

“This was a really significant development because the Surgeon General is, ya know, the nation’s doctor," said Felicia J. Craick, the school district's attorney from Keller Rohrback L.L.P.  "We think this sort of evidence is gonna be really compelling to the court, and eventually the jury."

In that May 23 advisory, Murthy issued warnings about the potential dangers social media poses to youth mental health. He called on policymakers, families, researchers, and tech companies to try and make social media safer.

In January, Seattle Public Schools became the first school district in the nation to sue the tech giants operating Tiktok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and Youtube, according to Craick.

Seattle Public School's 92-page lawsuit claims the social media giants violated Washington’s public nuisance law and intentionally contributed to the youth mental health crisis in the state.

District leaders are finding it is leading to increased "anxiety, depression, eating disorder and even suicidal ideation," Craick said they believe the tech companies themselves are to blame.

"Defendants have engineered their platforms and made design choices to maximize user engagement at the expense of youth mental health," Craick said.

The companies have denied such allegations and have rolled out new attempts to control screen time.

But other districts are following Seattle’s lead. About 100 other school districts have sued since SPS' lawsuit, according to Craick.

"The judge is getting ready to hear motions to dismiss and briefing on legal issues to see whether or not the case will proceed forward," Craick said.

Craick said the goal is to get these companies to change how they operate, and provide compensation.

"We’ll explain to the court, ultimately, what it’s going to take to fix the problem, what sorts of funding and programs are necessary," Craick said.

That court case could take a couple of years, Craick said.

Meantime, Tacoma pediatrician Dr. Carrie Jenner said she has noticed a change in kids’ mental health starting in 2021. 

"We are seeing concerning rises in anxiety and depression," Jenner said. 

Jenner said it is unclear whether that's a direct side effect of the rise in social media use, but added that since 2021, she's noticed more of her young patients spending more time on the apps.

She expressed concern about the age of the kids who are now accessing it.

"For social media platforms like Tiktok, Facebook, you’re supposed to be 13 to have an account," Craick said. 

But as she pointed out, nearly 40% of American children ages 8 to 12 said they have used social media, according to the 2021 Common Sense Census. It's a statistic that was mentioned in the public health advisory.

"These kids might see shocking images, violence, pornography, they just don’t know what to do with it, and that can be very harmful," Jenner said.

Jenner is hoping the new advisory encourages more research. 

Alan Brennick, 17, agrees that more research should be done on the topic. 

The Green Lake resident said that during pandemic-related school shutdowns, there were not many ways to socialize. As a result, he believes the use of social media by kids and teens became more widespread.

"I did build a little bit more of a dependence on that, and kind of like-- I guess as people talk about it-- serotonin... just kind of picking up your phone like, 'Oh! There’s a new message,'" Brennick said. "Right? 'What’s this?' Right? That then becomes, like, your sole center of attention."

We’re learning how humans process, how humans will deal with access to all this information.”

The Global Head of Safety for Meta, the company which owns Facebook and Instagram, responded to SPS's lawsuit saying, "We want teens to be safe online... We automatically set teens’ accounts to private when they join Instagram, and we send notifications encouraging them to take regular breaks. We don’t allow content that promotes suicide, self-harm or eating disorders."

YouTube, which is owned by Google, provided a response to the lawsuit. A spokesperson told KING 5, "We have invested heavily in creating safe experiences for children... We provide parents with the ability to set reminders, limit screen time and block specific types of content on supervised devices."

Regardless, Jenner wants to emphasize that the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline offers 24/7 access to young people as well as adults. You can call, text, and chat with them, even if you just need someone to talk to.

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