Maybe it started small. Less sleep. Lower grades. A new sadness or anger you couldn’t explain. Then you noticed how many hours a day they were on their phone — Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, or Facebook — and you started to wonder if those apps had something to do with it.
You’re not imagining it. Thousands of families nationwide are now part of major lawsuits against the companies that built these platforms. A jury has already found that some of the biggest names in tech designed their apps in ways that have hurt children.
What These Companies Did Wrong
The lawsuits allege the companies acted in three ways the law treats as serious wrongdoing:
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Careless. They didn’t warn parents about real risks, didn’t check ages, and didn’t give families the tools to keep kids safe.
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Intentional. They built features — endless scrolling, autoplay, “rewards,” constant notifications, and beauty filters — designed to keep kids glued to the screen.
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Hid the truth. Their own internal research showed teens were getting hurt. They kept going anyway.
What the Harm Looks Like
The young people in these cases have suffered real, diagnosed problems, including depression, anxiety, eating disorders, self-harm, sleep loss, and trouble at school. In the most serious cases, families have lost children to suicide.
If your child has been treated for any of these and used these apps for hours a day before turning 21, you may have a case.
What to Do Right Now
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Don’t delete anything. Keep the accounts, the phone, the messages, and the screen-time data.
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Save the medical records. Doctor visits, therapy notes, prescriptions, and hospital stays all matter.
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Write down a timeline. When did the apps start? When did things change?
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Reach out for help. There are time limits to file these cases, so don’t wait too long to learn your options.
