40+ states sue Meta for intentionally using addictive features

As concerns about the potential health risks social media poses to young children grows, over 40 states have filed lawsuits against Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, arguing that it knowingly introduced addictive features that negatively impacted children’s mental health.

Social media’s impacts on health

According to David Greenfield, a psychologist and founder of the Center for Internet and Technology Addiction, social media uses powerful tactics to draw users in and make it harder for them to turn away.

One such tactic is intermittent reinforcement, which suggests that a user could receive a reward at any time, but the timing of the reward...