MARSHALL COUNTY, W.Va. — Marshall County Schools joined a national class action lawsuit targeting social media companies recently saying it’s affecting children’s mental health.
Board members approved joining the social media adolescent addiction and personal injury products liability litigation during a recent meeting.
District leaders say the lawsuit claims certain social media companies knowingly designed addictive features that negatively impact children and teenagers.
“Well, I think that part of what we need to do as a school system is make sure that our students all understand to be wise consumers,” Superintendent Shelby Haines said. “And that when you see things online you have to look and see is this AI generated, is it realistic, is that the way people really look, is that the way people really act, can they really do those things because sometimes I think there’s students that look at these AI generated pictures and videos and it begins to negatively impact their self-image.”
Haines says there is no upfront cost for the district to join.
If the lawsuit results in financial compensation, those funds could go toward the district and strengthening mental health resources.
Marshall county joined dozens of districts across the country.
“At Gold, Khourey and Turak, we really want to be a benefit to the community,” attorney Jeremy McGraw said. “So, through our resources and connections, we were able to be a liaison or a conduit to get Marshall County attached to some litigation that’s ongoing, which is really seeking the whole social media companies, video gaming companies responsible for some of the negative impacts that students and juveniles are seeing through the use of these programs.”
School officials say the district already uses filtering software on school devices, but this legal action is about addressing the issue on a larger scale.