A landmark social media addiction trial in Los Angeles hit a brief delay this week when the plaintiff's long-awaited testimony was pushed back a day after other witnesses ran overtime.
K.G.M., a 20-year-old woman identified in court only by her initials, is now expected to take the stand Thursday (February 26) in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Her bellwether case could set a legal precedent for whether social media platforms are liable for mental health issues in children.
K.G.M. is the first person to take major social media companies to trial over claims that their platforms harmed her mental health as a child. The trial is part of a consolidated group of cases brought against Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Snap by more than 1,600 plaintiffs, including over 350 families and over 250 school districts.
The lawsuit specifically calls out features like algorithmically generated endless feeds, reward systems designed to keep users engaged, and frequent notifications — alongside what it describes as inadequate age verification and parental controls.
Gary Hoffman weighed in, talking about how even adults can get trapped scrolling through the "brain-rot" on social media.
"But [my mother] would spend a whole lot more time than she realized just scrolling through, just going through, just checking to see how everybody's doing and whatever his grandkids are up to. That's it it was and and she would be surprised at that and how much time just disappears when you're scrolling through people's posts."