Likes have been a core feature of Meta’s social media platforms since the company’s early days, when Facebook was its only major platform.
Today, likes are nearly universal across social media. They are one of the primary ways users interact with the text, photos, and videos they see online.
However, social media likes are increasingly being linked to negative emotions and mental health concerns, particularly among teenagers and young people.
Kaylee, the young woman who won a lawsuit against Meta earlier this year, testified that she created dozens of YouTube and Instagram accounts.
She hoped to use those accounts to generate likes on her posts, increase engagement with other users, and gain feelings of validation and self-worth. Kaylee was only 9 years old at the time. She later testified that she was diagnosed with depression at age 10.
Research conducted in recent years suggests that social media engagement metrics, including “likes,” may contribute to feelings of rejection and depression, external among teenagers.
In New Mexico’s case against Meta, which involved the release of more than 2 million documents, attorneys cited Meta’s own research showing that visible engagement counts can trigger “social comparison”—the process of judging one’s value against the images and experiences of others.
Meta’s internal research found that social comparison associated with Instagram use was linked to increased loneliness, negative body image, and worsening moods and emotions.
As Judge Biedscheid stated in the ruling, external, although this is the first time a social media company has been found to constitute a “public nuisance,” Meta’s platform operations over more than a decade have contributed to a growing youth mental health crisis in New Mexico and beyond.
Now, attorneys representing 30 additional states are urging Judge Gonzalez Rogers to reach a similar conclusion about the impact of social media on young people.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk