Social Media: Should It Be Held Accountable For Damaging Mental Health?
In 2024, , carrying pictures of children who died as a result of social media. “I thought, you can see all of these pictures of these children who’ve died in this room at once, and it’s going to be overwhelming, and it’s going to change,” Joann Bogard, one of the grieving parents said, according to CNN. However, it didn’t. Companies like Meta, Google, or TikTok should be held responsible for any damages done to a teen or young adult’s mental health.
Though a 1996 law defends these online sites from any content created by users, the law doesn’t say anything about protecting these sites from algorithmic recommendations. The New York Times says, “social media was built to be addictive, like cigarettes.” This can be harmful to anyone who uses social media, especially teens and young adults.
Social media can also introduce new and dangerous trends. For example, dumpling squishy toys have become a very popular toy. However, some of theses toys contain dangerous chemicals. Tests that were conducted have proved that this was a hazard to kids. People on these social media apps also post videos of them doing something dangerous, like putting dry ice in their mouth. This causes the people who watch it to try and do the same, which is very dangerous.
Social media platforms like TikTok, Youtube, or Instagram should not be able to get away with damages like this. for people on social media.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/articles/c1m21xgpjd0o
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/learning/should-social-media-companies-be-held-responsible-for-teens-mental-health-struggles.html
https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/17/tech/meta-mark-zuckerberg-addiction-trial-testimony
