- Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, testified that he doesn't believe social media is "clinically addictive," The Heart of the Matter: Addiction or Problematic Use?
The debate centers around whether excessive social media use qualifies as a true addiction or simply "problematic use," as Mosseri puts it Meta's lawyer, Kevin Huff, emphasized this point in opening statements. He stated that "social media addiction is not a thing" because it's not recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) Huff argued that the American Psychiatric Association studied the issue and didn't classify social media use as an addiction. "According to the American Psychiatric Association, they don't recognize the concept of social media addiction in the same way as addiction to drugs and alcohol," Huff said The plaintiff's lawyer, Mark Lanier, is taking a different tack. He compared social media platforms to casinos and addictive drugs, arguing that they are designed to "addict the brains of children" Lanier presented research suggesting that young users who join social media platforms are more likely to stay on them longer. He argues that this makes them prime targets for long-term profit Meta maintains that it's careful to test features used by young people before releasing them The Plaintiff's Case: Engineering Addiction for Profit?
The Bigger Picture
