Arkansas takes on Youtube over youth mental health impact

Addiction to social media is one of the most common addictions among young people. The authorities in Arkansas have decided to tackle the problem and implement serious measures. Currently, they are targeting the YouTube platform, with application producers facing significant accusations.

Social media have revolutionized how we communicate, work, and spend our free time. Although they offer undeniable advantages, there is increasing discussion about their harmful impact on mental health and interpersonal relationships. This particularly concerns the pressure they place on young users, the cult of comparing oneself to media personalities, and the increasing cases of addiction to engaging apps. The authorities of one US state have decided to take matters into their own hands, leading to significant accusations against the producers of the YouTube app.

Arkansas is a state in the southeastern part of the USA, bordering Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The authorities of Arkansas are alarmed by the number of young people addicted to social media. They believe that most of the negative effects are caused by apps that overstimulate the youth. For this reason, they sued TikTok and Meta. Now, it's YouTube's turn.

In September this year, the authorities of Arkansas filed a lawsuit against YouTube and its parent company, Alphabet (which includes Google), arguing that the site deliberately contributes to the growing mental health crises among young people. The lawsuit states: "YouTube amplifies harmful material, doses users with dopamine hits, and drives youth engagement and advertising revenue. As a result, youth mental health problems have advanced in lockstep with the growth of social media, and in particular, YouTube."

The company firmly rejects the accusations, claiming that the accusations are untrue. Additionally, it emphasizes that it does everything to ensure that parents have control over what their children browse on the platform. Spokesperson Jose Castaneda assured the media in an official statement: "Providing young people with a safer, healthier experience has always been core to our work. In collaboration with youth, mental health and parenting experts, we built services and policies to provide young people with age-appropriate experiences, and parents with robust controls."