Disconnected
Australia enforces one of the world’s strictest measures against internet use for minors
The unconstrained power of social media has been linked to a burgeoning mental health crisis and the meteoric rise of disinformation. Around the world, momentum is finally building to hold hugely profitable social media companies to account.
“This is an urgent crisis. Millions of teens are having their mental health compromised.” According to former Meta consultant Arturo Bejar, social media usage is leaving young people vulnerable to depression and self-harm. Finally, momentum is building among parents, lawyers, and activists to hold these social media moguls accountable. Lori Schott, mother of 18-year old Anna who took her own life because of what her algorithms fed her on TikTok, is suing the big social media companies, alongside parents with fearfully similar stories. "[Zuckerberg] is responsible. He needs to be held legally liable for what happened, and that's a hill I'm willing to die on." Previn Warren is a lawyer running the case against social media empires in the US. Warren claims these companies prioritise profit over accountability: “I don’t think Instagram wants to kill kids. I think Instagram wants to make a ton of money. And they don’t care if they happen to kill some kids along the way.”
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