A jury in Los Angeles has found social media giants Google and Meta liable for the mental health struggles of a 20-year-old woman, awarding her $3 million. Attorneys for the plaintiff had alleged that YouTube and Instagram’s recommendation algorithms and features like autoplay were deliberately designed to be addictive, and that the companies were aware of the harm they were causing.
In this week’s STATus Report, host Alex Hogan sat down with influential content creators and health communicators Jessica Knurick, Morgan “Dr. Noc” McSweeney, and Jessica Malaty Rivera to discuss the mental health impacts of social media.
“I’ve seen it affect my mental health. I mean, I know how I feel when I’m scrolling,” said Malaty Rivera, an infectious disease epidemiologist with nearly half a million Instagram followers. “I’ve done a few [social media] fasts here and there and noticed the relief, the reduced anxiety, the reduced questioning of like, ‘should I be online?’”
This week’s episode also features some key moments from STAT’s recent Breakthrough Summit East in New York, including senior HHS official Chris Klomp on the ongoing search for a new CDC director and former FDA official Robert Califf discussing the turmoil currently plaguing the agency.