LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — >>> Lee esta noticia en Español <<<
With social media, we all have the world at our fingertips at all times.
High school students at Hanover Area High School in Luzerne County call social media a big part of their lives.
"I switch between Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook," said Hanover Area senior Paige Engleman.
School administrators believe social media can have a big impact on those same students.
"What they are searching can possibly take them in the wrong direction as a result that ends up in our classrooms," said Superintendent Nathan Barrett.
Nathan Barrett is the superintendent at Hanover Area. He says the district near Wilkes-Barre has recently increased mental health services.
"In the last 2 years, we have put 4 additional mental health professionals on our staff, which is creating a strain on our budget and our taxpayers," said Barrett.
That's why Hanover Area has joined North Pocono, Crestwood and Hazleton Area in filing separate federal lawsuits against Facebook, TikTok, Google and others. The lawsuits argue that these social media companies know their sites are highly addictive but still profit off the young people who use them.
"Social media has become an avenue for communication which then students can't escape any type of communication of bullying or burden that may be placed on their minds," said Barrett.
"I used to be impacted by it a little bit, and some of my friends have been. You have to know when it is time to stop and take a break," said freshman Amelia Gwrykicz.
"Some people feel down on themselves if they don't get enough likes, they feel like they need more likes to be a better person," said Engleman.
Luzerne County just filed its own federal lawsuit against the social media platforms.
It cites an increase in mental health problems involving young people that start with social media, but ultimately require the county to step in.
"It would help us just like the opioid complaints, it would give us the money to dedicate resources, educate students, help the ones who are seeing issues as a result of these problems," said Luzerne County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce.
The lawsuits do not say how much money each school district wants the social media companies to pay in damages.
There's no date set for when any of these lawsuits might go to court.
In an email to Newswatch 16, a Google spokesperson provided this statement:
“Protecting kids across our platforms has always been core to our work. In collaboration with child development specialists, we have built age-appropriate experiences for kids and families on YouTube, and provide parents with robust controls. The allegations in these complaints are simply not true.” - José Castañeda, Google Spokesperson