The concept of social media addiction has been a topic of discussion in recent years, with many experts and lawmakers expressing concerns about the potential harm it can cause, particularly among young people. As reported by The Guardian, the CEO of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, recently testified in a landmark California trial, dismissing the idea that users can be addicted to social media. Mosseri argued that critics must separate 'clinical addiction' from 'problematic use', emphasizing that psychologists do not classify social media addiction as an official diagnosis.
Researchers have documented the harmful consequences of compulsive social media use among young people, and lawmakers around the world are worried about its addictive potential. Mosseri's testimony is part of a series of trials in which hundreds of families and school districts have sued Meta, Snap, TikTok, and YouTube, alleging that the companies knowingly created addictive products that harm young people's mental health. The initial trial, in Los Angeles, focuses on a 20-year-old identified by the initials KGM, who alleges that Instagram's addictive design features exacerbated her depression and suicidal thoughts.
Mark Lanier, the plaintiff's lawyer, grilled Mosseri about whether Instagram put profits ahead of safety and whether the platform's cosmetic filters promoted plastic surgery. Mosseri said the company tests new features that will be used by younger users before their release, stating that 'we are trying to be as safe as possible but also censor as little as possible'. Some families viewed the exchange as confirming their beliefs about the harm caused by Instagram, with Matthew P Bergman, founding attorney of Social Media Victims Law Center, saying that Mosseri's testimony revealed what families have long suspected: Instagram's executives made a conscious decision to put growth over the safety of minors.
Academic Perspectives
Mosseri has previously faced scrutiny about whether he may have dismissed internal warnings about the platform's addictive design. A conversation between Meta researchers mentioned by the plaintiff's attorney in his opening statement stressed the addictive nature of the platform, with one employee suggesting that 'IG is a drug' and another stating that 'LOL, I mean, all social media. We're basically pushers'. One of the researchers also mentioned that 'I know Adam doesn't want to hear it … He freaked out when I talked about dopamine in my teen fundamentals lead review, but it is undeniable. It is biological. It is psychological'.
Some parents who allege their children were harmed – and in some cases, died – because of social media platforms' addictive design were in court on Wednesday. John DeMay, whose son Jordan died by suicide in 2022 after being targeted in an online sextortion scam, said he expected Mosseri to do little beyond try to save face ahead of his testimony. DeMay stated that 'it's absolutely a win for us already because the testimony is public, the internal documents are public, and now Mr Mosseri is going to have to go on the stand and try to justify why his company was doing the things they were doing to build products that are so addictive, and continuing to do it even though kids are dying over them'.
Personal Accounts
Mosseri's remarks follow the trial's opening arguments earlier this week, in which Mark Lanier, a lawyer for the victims, cited internal Meta and Google documents to argue that they targeted children as young as four. Lanier called social media apps 'digital casinos' because of features such as endless scrolling. YouTube's lawyers rejected assertions that the platform counts as social media and that individuals were addicted. Meta's lawyers disputed the science behind social media addiction and argued that KGM's mental health issues had to do with familial abuse and issues, not social media.
Instagram has added some safety features aimed at its young users in recent years, but a 2025 review of these tools by Fairplay, a nonprofit that advocates for reducing the influence of big tech on children, found that less than one in five are fully functional and two-thirds are either substantially ineffective or no longer exist. The plaintiffs' focus is not on individual bad actors or content but rather allegations that social media companies knowingly made their products addictive. This novel strategy has so far allowed the plaintiffs to bypass a federal law that typically shields platforms from legal action tied to harmful third-party content.
Labour Market Data and Broader Economic Framing
DeMay said he was at the US Senate in January 2024, when big tech executives testified before Congress about child safety. He said he has more hope in the courts' ability to change policy, stating that 'every time we try to get something legislatively done it's a grind. I've lost a lot of hope and I know other parents have, too'. The financial pressure could make a difference, he said: 'These companies – when they start getting sued for hundreds of millions of dollars by all these victims for the harms that they've been perpetrating on their users for so long – they're going to be forced to make changes or else they're going to go broke'.
