COURTROOM IN SANTA FE, AND PEYTON SPELLACY KOAT ACTION SEVEN NEWS, CONTINUING OUR TEAM COVERAGE NOW, SOME PUBLIC HEALTH EXPERTS ARE GLAD TO SEE META GOING TO TRIAL. THEY HAVE ARGUED THEIR PLATFORMS LIKE FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM AND WHATSAPP HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE JUVENILE CRIME AND MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS. JASON MCNABB IS HERE WITH DETAILS ON THOSE CLAIMS. YEAH, THAT’S RIGHT DOUG AND SHELLY, CONCERNS OF THE IMPACT SOCIAL MEDIA HAS HAD ON OUR YOUTH ARE NOT NEW, AND SOME ARE SAYING ACTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN TAKEN AGAINST TECH COMPANIES LIKE META YEARS AGO. I PERSONALLY FEEL THIS SHOULD HAVE STARTED DURING THE.COM BUBBLE TIMES 2001 TO WHEN WE HAD THE ADVENT OF SOCIAL MEDIA. DOCTOR JAGDISH COOP IS A PROFESSOR OF PUBLIC HEALTH AT NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITY. HIS RESEARCH HAS LOOKED AT THE VARIOUS FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES AMONGST DIFFERENT POPULATIONS, INCLUDING TEENAGERS. AMONG THOSE IS SOCIAL MEDIA AFFECTS THE DEVELOPING BRAIN. HE SAYS STUDIES HAVE SHOWN BOTH THE ADDICTIVE NATURE OF SOCIAL MEDIA APPS, ALONG WITH EXPOSURE TO VIOLENT AND SEXUAL CONTENT, HAS GREATLY CONTRIBUTED TO THE TEEN CRIME AND MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS. THERE’S A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE IN COLLEGES THAT WE SEE NOW, TEENAGERS WHO ARE CONSTANTLY SCROLLING, DOOM SCROLLING AND LOOKING AT SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT EXCESSIVELY TO THE EXTENT THAT THEY FEEL DEPRESSED, ANXIOUS, LONELY, AND THEIR PHYSICAL HEALTH IS BEING DAMAGED BECAUSE THEY ARE GAINING WEIGHT, THEY ARE NOT PHYSICALLY ACTIVE. THEY ARE CUT OUT FROM THE SOCIETY. SOME OF THESE POINTS WERE DIRECTLY MENTIONED IN THE STATE’S OPENING STATEMENTS MONDAY MORNING. WHEN YOU HAVE A PLATFORM LIKE THIS AND PEOPLE CAN POST WHAT THEY WANT GOOD, BAD AND UGLY, MANY PEOPLE WILL POST WITH GOOD INTENTION, BUT WITHOUT SAFEGUARDS AND GUARDRAILS. MANY BAD ACTORS HORRIFICALLY, WILL POST THINGS THAT PUT CHILDREN AT RISK. HOWEVER, THE DEFENSE FOR META ARGUED THAT THE NOTIONS ABOUT THE PLATFORM’S ADDICTIVE TENDENCIES WERE INACCURATE DURING THEIR OPENING STATEMENTS IN SANTA FE MONDAY AFTERNOON. FACEBOOK IS NOT LIKE FENTANYL. NO ONE IS GOING TO OVERDOSE ON FACEBOOK. AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE STATE’S MAIN ARGUMENT WILL CONTINUE TO BE THAT META KNEW THEIR PLATFORMS LIKE FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM AND WHATSAPP WERE DANGEROUS AND ADDICTIVE TO YOUTH, BUT STILL FAVOR
Meta trial in Santa Fe raises concerns over social media’s impact on youth
Public health experts welcome Meta’s trial, arguing its platforms contribute to juvenile crime and mental health issues.
Public health experts are relieved as Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, goes to trial, with claims that its platforms have contributed to a juvenile crime and mental health crisis.Concerns about social media’s impact on youth are longstanding, and some argue that action against tech companies like Meta should have been taken years ago. Dr. Jagdish Khubchandani, a professor of public health at New Mexico State University, has researched factors contributing to physical and mental health issues among teenagers, including the effects of social media on the developing brain.”I personally feel this should have started during the dot-com bubble times, 2001 to when we had the advent of social media,” Khubchandani said.He explained that studies have shown the addictive nature of social media apps, along with exposure to violent and sexual content, has greatly contributed to the teen crime and mental health crisis.”There’s a lot of people in colleges that we see now, teenagers who are constantly scrolling, doom scrolling, and looking at social media content excessively to the extent that they feel depressed, anxious, lonely. And their physical health is being damaged because they’re gaining weight, they’re not physically active, they’re cut out from the society,” Khubchandani said.These concerns were highlighted in the state’s opening statements on Monday morning.”When you have a platform like this and people can post what they want, good, bad, and ugly, many people will post with good intention. But without safeguards and guardrails, many bad actors horrifically will post things that put children at risk,” the state argued.However, Meta’s defense attorneys countered these claims during their opening statements in Santa Fe on Monday afternoon.”Facebook is not like fentanyl. No one’s going to overdose on Facebook,” they said.At the end of the day, the state’s main argument will continue to be that Meta knew its platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp were dangerous and addictive to youth, but still favored profit over putting safeguards in place.
Public health experts are relieved as Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, goes to trial, with claims that its platforms have contributed to a juvenile crime and mental health crisis.
Concerns about social media’s impact on youth are longstanding, and some argue that action against tech companies like Meta should have been taken years ago. Dr. Jagdish Khubchandani, a professor of public health at New Mexico State University, has researched factors contributing to physical and mental health issues among teenagers, including the effects of social media on the developing brain.
“I personally feel this should have started during the dot-com bubble times, 2001 to when we had the advent of social media,” Khubchandani said.
He explained that studies have shown the addictive nature of social media apps, along with exposure to violent and sexual content, has greatly contributed to the teen crime and mental health crisis.
“There’s a lot of people in colleges that we see now, teenagers who are constantly scrolling, doom scrolling, and looking at social media content excessively to the extent that they feel depressed, anxious, lonely. And their physical health is being damaged because they’re gaining weight, they’re not physically active, they’re cut out from the society,” Khubchandani said.
These concerns were highlighted in the state’s opening statements on Monday morning.
“When you have a platform like this and people can post what they want, good, bad, and ugly, many people will post with good intention. But without safeguards and guardrails, many bad actors horrifically will post things that put children at risk,” the state argued.
However, Meta’s defense attorneys countered these claims during their opening statements in Santa Fe on Monday afternoon.
“Facebook is not like fentanyl. No one’s going to overdose on Facebook,” they said.
At the end of the day, the state’s main argument will continue to be that Meta knew its platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp were dangerous and addictive to youth, but still favored profit over putting safeguards in place.
