An internal research study at Meta called “Project MYST” was created in partnership with University of Chicagofound that parental supervision and control – such as time limits and limited access – has little impact on the compulsive use of children of social media. The study also found that children who experience stressful events are more likely to lack the ability to moderate their social media use appropriately.
That’s one of the key statements revealed during testimony in the social media addiction trial that began last week in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The plaintiff in the lawsuit is identified by his initials “KGM” or his first name, “Kaley.” She, along with her mother and others involved in the case, accused the social media company of creating an “addictive and dangerous” product that causes young users to experience anxiety, depression, body dysmorphia, eating disorders, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and more.
The case is now one of the landmark trials to take place this year, accusing social media companies of harming children. The outcome of the lawsuit will impact the company’s approach to younger users and could prompt regulators to take further action.
In this case, the plaintiff sued Meta, YouTube, ByteDance (TikTok), and Snap, but the last two companies already settle down statement before the trial begins.
In a jury trial currently underway in LA, Kaley’s attorney, Mark Lanier, is seeking to conduct an internal study at Meta, which he says found evidence that Meta knew about, but did not disclose, the specific harm.
In Project MYST, which stands for the Meta and Youth Social Emotional Trends survey, Meta research concluded that “parental and household factors are not related to the level of attention adolescents report to social media use.”
Or, in other words, even if parents try to control their children’s use of social media, by using parental controls or even just household rules and supervision, it has no effect on whether the child will use social media excessively or use it forcefully. The study is based on a survey of 1,000 teenagers and their parents about their use of social media.
The study also noted that parents and adolescents agreed on this point, saying “there was no relationship between parent reports or adolescent reports of parental supervision, and survey measures of adolescent attention or ability.”
If the study’s findings are accurate, it means the use of things like parental controls built into the Instagram app or time limits on smartphones don’t necessarily help teenagers become less likely to use social media, the plaintiff’s attorney said. As the original complaint alleges, teenagers are being exploited by social media products, whose flaws include algorithmic feeds designed to keep users scrolling, intermittent variable rewards that deceive the delivery of dopamine, continuous notifications, less tools for parental control, and more.
During his testimony, the head of Instagram Adam Mosseri claimed that he was not familiar with Meta Project MYST, although there were documents showing that he had given his consent to continue the study.
“We did a lot of research projects,” Mosseri said, after admitting he couldn’t remember anything specific about MYST beyond its name.
However, plaintiffs’ attorneys point to this study as an example of why social media companies should be held responsible for alleged harm, not parents. She noted that Kaley’s mother, for example, has tried to stop her daughter’s addiction and use of social media, even taking away her phone at times.
What’s more, the study found that teens who had more life experiences — like dealing with drunken parents, disruptions at school, or other problems — reported less concern about social media use. That means kids who face real-life trauma are more at risk of addiction, advocates say.
In this position, Mosseri seems to agree with this finding, saying, “There are many reasons why this can happen. One of the things I often hear is that people use Instagram as a way to escape from a more difficult reality. ” Meta is careful not to label any kind of overuse as an addiction; instead, Mosseri stated that the company uses the term “problematic use” to refer to people “spending more time on Instagram than they realize.”
Lawyers for Meta, meanwhile, push the idea that this study is more narrowly focused on the understanding that teenagers feel that they use social media too much, whether or not they are really addicted. They also generally point more responsibility to parents and the fact that life is the catalyst for children like Kaley’s negative emotional state, not the product of corporate social media.
For example, Lawyer Meta pointed Kaley is the child of divorced parents, with an abusive father, and faces bullying at school.
How the jury will interpret the findings of such studies Project MYST and otherstogether with the testimony of both sides, remains to be seen. However, Mosseri noted that MYST’s findings have not been published publicly, and no harm has been done to teenagers or parents as a result of the research.
Meta has been asked for comments.