NEWARK – An Eastern Shore school system has filed a lawsuit against several major social media companies for their role in the youth mental health crisis.
Somerset County Public Schools announced late last week that it has filed suit against Meta, Google, ByteDance, Snap Inc. and TikTok. The effort, part of a nationwide movement to hold the companies accountable for social media’s impact on children’s mental health, has not yet been discussed by the Worcester County Board of Education.
“…to date there have been no discussion here in Worcester of this case,” said Carrie Sterrs, the school system’s coordinator of public relations and special programs.
According to a news release from Somerset County Public Schools, the lawsuit alleges that the addictive nature of social media has created a pressing need for the school system to provide mental health support, “depleting resources, necessitating extra training for faculty and staff, and negatively impacting” the school environment. Exposure to social media has allegedly increased rates of bullying, eating disorders, depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. The school system has had to redirect funds meant for essential education to counter the detrimental effects of social media. Joining in the legal action is an attempt to pursue financial compensation to reduce reliance on taxpayer funding.
“Our primary goal is to provide the best education and learning opportunities for our students in a safe environment,” Somerset County Board of Education Chairperson William McInturff said in the release. “The significant increase in mental health needs among our students, exacerbated by harmful social media platforms, complicates the job of educators, challenges parents, and impacts student instruction. It’s crucial for these tech companies to acknowledge their responsibility in this crisis and understand how profoundly it is affecting our youth.”
I applaud their efforts, but Meta alone will crush them in court, not to mention the others. As they are for profit entities, I’m sure they have the best attorneys money can buy.
With Student test scores in the toilet and out-of-control classes, it seems more appropriate for Somerset County Public Schools to sue themselves.
What’s that going to cost the taxpayers? They need more $ for next year’s “conferences”.
The public school system should be the one’s being sued. This system has failed miserably to educate the children. Indoctrination is all you do. And the board or Ed union should also be held accountable.