Stories

Sat, 14 Mar 2026

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 She spent 16 hours on Instagram in a day. It's up to a jury to decide if Meta is to blame

A landmark lawsuit will set the stage for thousands of people who say social media platforms are intentionally addictive.
Kaley, a young woman who has been suing Meta and Google, told a jury that she spent 16 hours on Instagram in one day. She said she would wake up at night to check her notifications and open the app as soon as she woke up. Kaley's story is being used as a test case for over 2,000 similar lawsuits against social media companies. The trial is focused on whether Kaley had an addiction to social media and if the companies designed their platforms to be addictive. If they did, the jury will need to decide what compensation Kaley is owed. Lori Schott, whose daughter died after using Instagram, testified that the company knew about the potential harm of its platform but chose not to act. She said Meta's PR team "tried to convince us that the world was all lollipops and unicorns." Mark Zuckerberg, Meta's CEO, testified in person for the first time and said his company had always prohibited users under 13 from using its platforms. However, internal documents showed that executives discussed growing usage among children. Kaley said she started using social media at a young age and created dozens of accounts to get likes and interactions. She experienced anxiety and depression around the same time as her social media use began. Meta argued that Kaley's mental health problems were caused by her personal life, not her social media use. The company's lawyers referenced internal documents showing that millions of children used Meta's platforms and praised their growth among young users. The trial is ongoing, with both sides presenting different arguments about the impact of social media on mental health.