COVID-19 isolation and increased use of social media possible correlation to suicide.

Michigan – February 20, 2023

Suicide has been named as the second leading cause of death for individuals aged 5–24 years in the United States. This serious danger to young people is a significant public health concern which may have been enhanced with the overuse of social media during isolation form physical interaction with peers. Scholarly data suggest depression, anxiety and social isolation increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have contributed to suicide risk in youth. Congress has called out social media platforms and is pushing for better controls to the design that causes young people and adults to become addicted to its use.  Meta is the parent company for Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger which gives them an incredibly large presence in the lives of many Americans. Victims of social media harms or their loved ones should seek consultation with a Meta lawsuit lawyer to determine if they have a cause of damage compensation to attempt to correct any related harms.

Social media causation to suicide.

Interest in the potential for both detrimental and supportive influences of social media/internet use on suicidal behavior has been growing; however, the relationship remains unclear. Psychologists have reported that while some kids can tolerate more time on social media, some children are negatively affected within as little as 5 minutes. Victims of social media who are suffering mental and physical illnesses should seek out counsel from a Facebook lawsuit attorney who may identify victim criteria to determine if there is a case for damages that may pay for harmful losses and expense of medical expenses to address mental and physical illness related to social media harm. Victims of social media harms will need to prove negative health was caused by using Meta platforms and a “functional capacity evaluation” should be completed to support those claims.

Harmful loss compensation.

Mental health struggles caused by Meta Platforms may require compensation to cover:

• Medical treatment costs,
• Therapy costs,
• Pain and suffering,
• Emotional damages,
• Lifelong disability addresses loss of income and professional training,
• Wrongful death loss,
• Other potential damages as identified in the Meta lawsuits.

Seek legal counsel.

Michigan personal injury attorneys  at the Neumann Law Group will assist families to build a case against Meta, Facebook or other social media platforms based on evidence of proof of injury to a victim. Professional attorneys will work with a team of experts to support associated mental health risks, crises and statistical death numbers related to social media in addition to negligent responsibility for criminal acts in certain cases.

Neumann Law Group

Traverse City

300 E Front St #445
Traverse City, MI 49684
Phone: (231) 221-0050
Fax: (231) 221-0051

Sources:

1. Social media, internet use and suicide attempts in adolescents – PubMed (nih.gov)
2. The Impact of Social Media on Teens’ Mental Health | University of Utah Health
3. Study finds youth suicide rates increased during COVID-19 pandemic, especially among particular subgroups (medicalxpress.com)
4. https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title28/part6/chapter171&edition=prelim