Woman Details Social Media Impact in Trial Against Meta and Google
A young woman suing Meta and Google over the addictive nature of social media has told a Los Angeles jury that her childhood was dominated by her use of Instagram and YouTube.
"I stopped engaging with family because I was spending all my time on social media,"
said the woman, identified as KGM or Kaley to protect her privacy.
Kaley testified that she began using YouTube at age 6 and Instagram at age 9, encountering no barriers to access despite her young age.
Meta has argued that Kaley's excessive Instagram use was not an addiction and that the platform was not responsible for her mental health issues.
While much of the trial has focused on Instagram and Meta, Google's YouTube is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
TikTok and Snapchat were initially part of the lawsuit but settled shortly before the trial began; settlement terms remain undisclosed.
The trial, expected to continue until March, could influence thousands of similar lawsuits filed across the United States.
Kaley Describes Daily Social Media Use and Mental Health Effects
Now 20 years old, Kaley told the court that checking Instagram was
she did upon waking and that she used it"the first thing"
until going to sleep, which contributed to difficulties at school, home, and with her mental health."all day"
She also spent hours watching YouTube videos, noting the platform's autoplay feature kept her engaged continuously.
Kaley has been diagnosed with body dysmorphia, characterized by excessive worry about physical appearance. When asked by her lawyer, Mark Lanier, if she experienced such feelings before social media, she replied,
"No, I didn't."
She also reported that her first experiences of anxiety and depression occurred at ages nine and ten, with formal diagnoses following during her teenage years.
Kaley explained that receiving "likes" and increasing followers on Instagram and YouTube gave her a
, while insufficient likes made her feel"rush"
."insecure" or "ugly"
Trial Highlights and Meta's Defense
Kaley's testimony came a week after she attended court facing Mark Zuckerberg, Meta's co-founder and CEO, who was questioned for about seven hours by lawyers.
Meta's legal team has broadly maintained that Kaley's mental health challenges stemmed from family issues rather than Instagram use.
Lead Meta lawyer Paul Schmidt referenced statements Kaley made before filing the lawsuit regarding her difficult home life, including a strained relationship with her mother and thoughts of self-harm.
In court, Kaley acknowledged that while her relationship with her mother was sometimes difficult during her younger years, most conflicts were related to her iPhone use and time spent on social media. She emphasized that she and her mother are close today.
Zuckerberg's court appearance marked his first time testifying before a jury.
Central Issues: Child Access and Social Media Addiction
The trial has focused on whether platforms had sufficient safeguards to prevent children under 13 from accessing them and on evidence regarding social media's role in addictive behavior.
