Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, and YouTube are being sued by the Seattle Public School system. On the face of it, this doesn’t seem to make sense. Why would a school system, a bureaucratic organization, take on some of the biggest tech titans in the world?
Is it because the school didn’t like memes or gifs about them? No. The lawsuit is based on the Seattle school system’s argument that these social media companies are complicit in the skyrocketing rates of mental illness, anxiety, and depression seen in young adults. The school system does not have the funds to deal with the crises among their youth. They want these social media companies to not only help financially but also do more to self-regulate the content and access young people have to these sites. While the outcome of this case will be months away, it does allow us to address the role of social media in society and its impact on you.
As of January 1, 2023, the United States population was estimated to be around 334,233,854. At the same time, the number of social media users in the United States was pegged at
over 308,000, with that figure steadily increasing. Without a doubt, social media is a social institution, a structure in society providing the framework for governing the behavior of individuals in a community or society. Other examples of social institutions include the family, education, religion, and political institutions, to name a few. These entities play a crucial role in influencing standards of behavior in society. Ideally, this results in positive outcomes for individuals and society overall. The Seattle Public School system is arguing that, collectively, social media has a negative outcome on members of society. Just like any other social institution would be held responsible for poor results, social media companies should also be.
