Imagine you are walking to class, looking down at your phone. You scroll through Instagram, send snapchats and watch TikTok videos. You look up at the people around you, only to see that everyone else is staring at their phones, absorbed in their own virtual worlds.
On Oct. 24, 41 states sued Facebook and Instagram’s parent company Meta over allegations that the company exploited children and teenager’s mental health for profit. The lawsuit came after a leak of Meta documents showing that the corporation was aware of negative mental health impacts of Instagram use on teenage girls. The states also alleged that Meta has been violating privacy laws for children under 13 by collecting their data.
The plaintiffs aim to to increase regulation of social media giants and the technology industry in hopes of lowering rates of depression and suicide among children and teens. Several states have already passed laws regarding children’s social media use, including a mandatory parental consent for social media use for minors under the age of 18 in Arkansas and Louisiana.
Although the lawsuit is not explicitly about college students, universities are also facing a mental health epidemic. Data from BestColleges explains that 77% of college students in 2022 experienced “moderate to serious psychological distress,” and 51% said their mental health decreased in college.
The Clarion spoke with five DU students on the lawsuit, mental health and internet privacy in general. None of the students interviewed had heard of the Meta lawsuit on children and teen’s mental health. Here’s what they had to say.
Do you think there should be limits on children’s social media usage?
“100%. I think social media can be a very destructive place mentally, and children do not need to be exposed to that. When I was a child, I was not on social media. Seeing kids who were my age on social media now [is] crazy.” – Leah Thomas, first-year
“I think yes, but the world is changing so I feel like it’d be harder to exclude children from social media when it becomes everything.” – Raul Medina, fourth-year
“Absolutely. I think social media is widely used by adults, and so children using it can be exposed to things above their age range, above their mental capacity, and things that they can’t handle which can drastically affect their social well-being and mental well-being.” – Zayan Danho, second-year
“Yes, I definitely think there should be, because nowadays it has a much more negative impact than it does positive. It can sometimes feel like a getaway. Social media is filled with a lot of fake things and it can affect young minds because they feel like they have to live up to those standards, when in reality, it’s just social media. Half of it is not even real and if they [focus] too much on that they’ll feel isolated and like they don’t fit in.” – Avril Arroniz, first-year
“I think so. I think younger people don’t have a perception that their actions have consequences, so it’s pretty difficult to limit.” – Phillip Chiem, fourth-year
Does social media have an impact on college students’ mental health?
“Yes, to an extent. I think it’s more about how you let it affect you because I feel like most of us at this age are comfortable in ourselves and secure enough to not let social media affect us. But it can still be detrimental.” – Thomas
“I think it does because social media encompasses the highlights of people’s lives and it becomes more of a chore to look into other people’s highlights when you’re not exactly thriving in a class or something like that.” – Medina
“I believe so. I think not as much as younger kids, because we’re a little bit older. But I think it absolutely can in terms of social norms [and] body positivity.” – Danho
“It does. Some people can use it as a break or getaway, or to take a break from the stress of school, but in reality, I feel like it doesn’t give them a break at all. It keeps their mind going and it can be very negative.” – Arroniz
“I think so. Social media is an addiction. I’m on TikTok a lot [and] that distracts me from doing my work.” – Chiem
What is your opinion on data security on social media? How comfortable are you with sharing information about yourself online?
“I think data security is nonexistent, and I don’t share too much. I like to try to keep most of my life private from social media.” – Thomas
“I don’t think it’s as big of an issue as it is. I feel like I’ve never looked into it, so I’ve never been uncomfortable sharing online.” – Medina
“I’d rather not, but at this point many places already have access to it, including the government. It’s something that I don’t stress as much about, but I’d rather what’s supposed to be private remain private.” – Danho
“I think [social media] is not secure enough. I definitely feel like there’s an effort being put into that kind of security, but honestly it’s not even one of the biggest problems in the world right now, so I feel like it definitely does get neglected. Even though social media keeps growing, in reality, we should be more careful with it. I personally don’t post a lot; I don’t feel comfortable sharing information about myself online because I know the kinds of people that are out there.” – Arroniz
“I think if you don’t want certain information out, you shouldn’t share it or put it online in the first place.” – Chiem
