Outcome of social media trial hinges on addictive use theory

Arguments in a landmark Los Angeles trial on harms associated with social media use will focus largely on whether design features on platforms such as Instagram and YouTube trigger pathways in young people that resemble an addiction. Some researchers have reported signs of these effects in the brain, though the evidence remains mixed, and this area of inquiry has not been as thoroughly studied as the impact of social media usage on child and adolescent mental health.