Arizona experts warn of 'pleasure loop' after Meta, YouTube found liable for mental health issues

Reactions pour in amid ruling of social media companies found liable for mental health issues

After Meta and YouTube were found liable Wednesday for features on their platforms contributing to mental health distress, Valley experts are weighing in. FOX 10's Taylor Wirtz learns why the ruling doesn't surprise them. 

PHOENIX - A jury ruled that Meta and YouTube are liable for features on their platforms that contribute to mental health distress.

What we know:

The Los Angeles court awarded $6 million total in damages to K.G.M., the now-20-year-old who sued in the case. After nine days of deliberation, the jury found both companies liable for creating platforms with addictive features that contributed to the plaintiff's compulsive social media use.

Features like infinite feeds, autoplay videos, and essentially endless content. The verdict could serve as a bellwether for thousands of lawsuits filed on behalf of teenagers, states, school districts, and others.

Local perspective:

Experts in the Valley say while this is a landmark ruling, it’s one that doesn’t surprise them given what they’ve seen in their line of work. 

Avery’s House is a residential mental health treatment center that specializes in caring for teens with everything from depression to bipolar disorder. While they believe social media can be damaging for people of all ages, they say teens are particularly at risk since their brains are still developing, and they do not fully understand the gravity of some of the things they’re seeing and sharing online. 

Why you should care:

Staff at Avery’s House have seen everything from body dysmorphia, to bullying, to self-harm being amplified by social media and have seen the damage it does to teens and families firsthand.

What they're saying:

"It's the same pleasure and reward loop system in our brains that we get from doing drugs or drinking alcohol. It's the same effects from social media," said Kaleigh Telles, President of Avery’s House.

Camille Sitto, an Arizona Community Liaison, added: "With the beauty culture, we're comparing ourselves to something that is unrealistic. But when you are looking at images over and over and over again, you start to believe that that's the norm and that you have to meet that norm."

"When you start following something or you click on something and now you're seeing a video about self-harm, the algorithm is going to pick up on that, and it's going to start to spiral down this rabbit hole," said Liv Luvisi, Community Relations Specialist at Avery’s House.

Dig deeper:

Similar legal action was taken by Mesa Public Schools when they sued the parent companies of various social media apps, alleging they intentionally designed them to be addictive to children.

What's next:

The verdict was not unanimous, with only 10 out of 12 jurors agreeing. Both Meta and Google are exploring legal options.