https://kuow.org/stories/wa-sues-meta-over-youth-mental-health-crisis-that-is-costing-lives

Washington has joined a coalition of states challenging Meta, alleging it knowingly harmed the mental health of young users of its social media platforms, and targeted them with features designed to be addictive.

While Washington is part of a 33-state coalition that filed a lawsuit Tuesday a bipartisan effort a total of 42 states are filing lawsuits against Meta on similar grounds. The states aim to significantly change the way social media platforms operate, such as altering the "like" button and creating a new type of account strictly for younger users.

"Parents are doing their best to protect their kids against this addiction, but they are up against a sophisticated social media giant that is exploiting its most addictive features for profit."

Ferguson's office notes that the lawsuit includes a range of confidential information that plaintiffs are not releasing to the public yet, however, it does make a handful of initial allegations, including:

• Meta has engaged in deceptive and unfair business practices.
• Meta targeted youth with the intention of getting them hooked on its social media platforms. The lawsuit points out the "like" button, push notification, and the endless scroll of content as such tactics.
• Meta knew children under the age of 13 were using its social media platforms and collected data from them without parental consent.
• Meta knew there were risks for younger users but downplayed them.
• Ferguson said Tuesday that these social media tactics have resulted in higher rates of anxiety, depression, eating disorders, low self-esteem, sleep disruptions, and attention deficit disorder.

Ferguson called the issue a "youth mental health crisis that is costing lives."







1. If a like button button is problematic to today's children, America is done.

2. The things they are suing about are core to ALL social media's ability to generate views and revenues.

Will be interesting to see who wins this fight, because the social media companies, as ragingly liberal as they are, are going to fight this tooth and nails.

I see it like cigarettes. The seedier thing is that these people know way more about their users health than cigarette companies ever did. They should have to disclose if it's dangerous to use social media. They should disclose how much they knew it was causing these kinds of mental health issues. And I think they will ultimately need to figure out a way to keep children from accessing social media apps.

Curious why Texas is not part of the lawsuit

Quote:

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Parents are doing their best to protect their kids against this addiction, but they are up against a sophisticated social media giant that is exploiting its most addictive features for profit."

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Here's an idea you ****ing idiots, don't let them have social media profiles, smartphones and unfettered internet access. Take some damned personal responsibility and parent your ****ing kids. Good lord.

Kids are dumb and so are parents but the platforms exploit the simple minds of people for maximum revenue

C@LAg said:

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https://kuow.org/stories/wa-sues-meta-over-youth-mental-health-crisis-that-is-costing-lives

Washington has joined a coalition of states challenging Meta, alleging it knowingly harmed the mental health of young users of its social media platforms, and targeted them with [features designed to be addictive.

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Designed to be Addictive is not the same as Being Addictive (e.g. nicotine in cigarettes)

This is not a slippery slope at all.

TAMUallen said:

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Kids are dumb and so are parents but the platforms exploit the simple minds of people for maximum revenue

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Kids are dumb == opinion.
"exploit" is an opinion

Maximize revenue is typically the goal of most public corporations.
Pretty much every good product functions like this.

Apple is exploiting the minds of smart people for maximum revenue. Should we go after them too?


The fact that this is going to court is appalling.

This reminds me…..

Give me some blue stars!!

The damage the "like button" has done is no longer deniable:



Jonathan Haidt has been researching the effects of social media on society as a whole for over a decade. Social media for an adult with a developed brain is something entirely different then it's effects on a prepubescent teen. The "like button" and similar features amplify that effect. There have been research papers coming out about this since 2017 and every year there is more data to support that claim. It is no longer debatable. The debate should really be focused on what we can and should do about it. Yes, proper parenting it a large part of that equation. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the average parent to compete against algorithms and AI that is targeting teens.

It is one thing to make a product that at some point is determined to be harmful. I think anyone would agree that mistakes can happen. However, in this case, as the whistle blower testimony has demonstrated, Meta knew their product was harmful. Despite that knowledge, they chose to cover it up and double down on making profits. I am personally hoping that Meta gets sued out of existence. They have a lot of death and damage to account for.

ETA: start at 5:45 if you want to hear the specifics about the "like button" effect.

oldcrow91 said:

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This reminds me…..

Give me some blue stars!!

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how about a pink star

oldcrow91 said:

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This reminds me…..

Give me some blue stars!!

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they have diminished the quality of content on F16 and led it to be a cesspool of arguments!

and let's not even talk about the circle jerk that Premium has become where everyone rushes to agree with each other.

BAN BLUE STARS!!!!!

EVERYWHERE


now give me blue stars if you agree!

Vivek is a joke

Sharpshooter said:

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Vivek is a joke

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i think you wandered into the wrong thread.

C@LAg said:

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Sharpshooter said:

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Vivek is a joke

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i think you wandered into the wrong thread.

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Probably; but, still.

C@LAg said:

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oldcrow91 said:

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This reminds me…..

Give me some blue stars!!

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they have diminished the quality of content on F16 and led it to be a cesspool of arguments!

and let's not even talk about the circle jerk that Premium has become where everyone rushes to agree with each other.

BAN BLUE STARS!!!!!

EVERYWHERE


now give me blue stars if you agree!

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don't have blue, however I do have maroon.

Somewhere, some time, some one is going to come out with some documents where Facebook, or a company like Facebook, created a document that asks some behavioral psychologist how to make Facebook more addictive.

That will be a tough day for that media company.

BusterAg said:

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Somewhere, some time, some one is going to come out with some documents where Facebook, or a company like Facebook, created a document that asks some behavioral psychologist how to make Facebook more addictive.

That will be a tough day for that media company.

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Frances Haugen - Wikipedia

"On November 18, 2021, a bipartisan group of state attorneys general announced a consumer protection investigation of Meta based on documents shared by Haugen.[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Haugen#cite_note-Zakrzewski_11-18-2021-57][57][/url] The investigation includes a focus on Instagram, how Meta promotes engagement, and possible harms to children and teenagers"

"Likes" on social media and blue stars on TexAgs for sure have led to a lowest common denominator situation. I'm probably wistful for an era that never really existed, but I remember a time when discourse and discussion actually occurred (at least in my mind)

Kids don't use Facebook.

The "like/follow" model has really caused issues with some kids. It really distorts their social models and behaviors and it really messes with the social development and mental health of young girls. The data from those looking into this is pretty clear that these social approval seeking and granting mechanisms have really caused significant issues that need to be better understood and dealt with before throee we ing this stuff at kids.

Quote:

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creating a new type of account strictly for younger users.

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BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA

That will work JUST every other website that has age restrictions. People too young will just step right over the fence and come on in.

Social media & doom scrolling, notification dopamine hits, pop-ups, like buttons, orange up arrows, and the like are re-wiring pleasure centers of adolescents brains and rotting them to the core.

blow it all up.

screw the advertisers.

BusterAg said:

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Somewhere, some time, some one is going to come out with some documents where Facebook, or a company like Facebook, created a document that asks some behavioral psychologist how to make Facebook more addictive.

That will be a tough day for that media company.

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Maybe they don't have the hard proof, but that literally happened 6 years ago. Here's one from the former president:

theguardian.com/technology/2017/nov/09/facebook-sean-parker-vulnerability-brain-psychology

I've listened to Haidt and several others on this and agree that social media simply can't continue in its current form. Some amount of rulesetting and regulation is needed, even if it's relatively light touch.

Now do minors and online porn




the same could hold true for adults but let's stick with young people. Literally nothing is being done at any level to keep young people from viewing porn online. The big producers of it know how damaging it is to young people yet do nothing to stop it.

We all know online porn is re-wiring young people's brain chemistry. And we do nothing.

Can I sue TexAgs?