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Mental health crisis leads 3 Oregon school districts to file lawsuits against social media platforms

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – As experts sound the alarm on the mental health crisis facing kids and teens, more school districts are taking on social media companies.

Lawsuits have now been filed by at least three local districts, claiming social media platforms are prioritizing profits over student wellbeing.

In March, the Gervais School District filed a lawsuit on behalf of their students against platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Google and YouTube. Since then, similar lawsuits have also been filed by the Washougal and Salem-Keizer school districts.

The complaint claims the social media companies have “successfully exploited the vulnerable brains of youth – hooking tens of millions of students across the country into positive feedback loops of excessive use and abuse of defendants’ social media platforms…Worse, the content defendants [they] curate and direct to youth is too often harmful and exploitive.”

“Young people are spending a lot of time indoors on their electronics rather than exploring,” said Dr. Mary Loeb, a Kaiser Permanente Northwest Physician. “I think one of the things to think about is trying to get those things out of the bedroom and having curfews for electronics.”

After surveying 17,000 U.S. high school students in 2021, the CDC found 42% experienced persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness – with even higher rates among female and LGBTQ students.

The CDC also found 22% of students had considered attempting suicide. Rates of teens contemplating, planning,and attempting to take their own lives rose from 2011 to 2021.

“Being a teen is tough by itself, but there are certain populations that have higher rates of depression,” Dr. Loeb said. “Like if you’re in a sexual minority, or racial minority, that really ups the ante in terms of depression and suicidality.”

And the number of suits continue to grow as complaints allege techniques and algorithms used by social media platforms are exacerbating the youth mental health crisis.

A spokesperson for Portland Public Schools told KOIN 6 News the district stands firmly against companies maximizing profits at the expense of student’s mental health, confirming they also intend to file litigation against several social media platforms.

According to Freddie Mack, the district’s Senior Director of Communications, “PPS is concerned with evidence from studies that implicate social media use as a contributing factor in the increase of mental health issues and suicides among youth… we remain committed to holding industries accountable that threaten the health and safety of our students.”

Meanwhile, experts like Dr. Loeb say adults and parents should stay on the lookout for warning signs in teens.

“Everybody gets sad at some point, but if your teen at any point expresses hopelessness or helplessness, and talks about not being around…if they’re giving away some kind of prized possessions, those sorts of things are really big red flags,” Dr. Loeb said. “And you need to get help right away.”

In a statement to KOIN 6 News, Google spokesperson José Castañeda said: “Protecting kids across our platforms has always been core to our work. In collaboration with child development specialists, we have built age-appropriate experiences for kids and families on YouTube, and provide parents with robust controls. The allegations in these complaints are simply not true.”