At least 11 states including Pennsylvania are opening an investigation into the world’s top social media platforms. At the center of this discussion is mental health.
Last month, the Facebook whistleblower came forward and said the social media company did an internal investigation, found out their app has negative impacts on kids mental health and was ignoring it.
Attorneys general from across the country took notice and are trying to determine if Facebook, now called meta, is putting the public at risk.
“Social media is portraying this sense of perfectionism,” said Retreat Behavioral Health therapist, Mark Sigmund.
He says he thinks social media is to blame for the skyrocketing numbers of mental illness in children.
“This is really making kids struggle with self-esteem because they’re making unfair comparisons with themselves and the people they see on social media,” he said.
The American Academy of Pediatrics calling children’s mental health a national emergency. According to the CDC, 1 in 5 children has a diagnosed mental illness.
“Kids have been falling way off balance. They’re on it way too much and are getting distracted from normal activities, sports, going outside,” he said.
Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who recently launched his campaign for Governor of Pennsylvania, is a part of an investigation into whether or not Facebook is putting users at risk.
He says in a statement:
Our investigation will help determine whether Facebook failed in its responsibility to protect children online and will help us determine how to stop these companies from continuing to put children at risk for their own profit.
An internal Facebook study found that Instagram worsened body image issues for one in three teenage girls.
Nearly 14 percent of teen girls say the platform makes thoughts of 'suicide and self-injury' worse" and 17 percent say the platform makes "eating issues" like anorexia worse.
According to Shapiro, the investigation will look into the techniques Facebook uses to increase the frequency and duration of engagement by young users.
“They’re disassociating with this,” Sigmund said. “They’re getting pulled into social media and it’s becoming their reality.”
His biggest piece of advice to families is to open up communication about social media with your kids. He also recommends encouraging them to take social media breaks. He recommends a full weekend without social media for the whole family.