Woman at heart of US trial says she was addicted to social media at age six

Lead plaintiff, now 20, says use of social media made her relationships with friends and family anxious and strained

The young woman at the heart of the landmark trial about the addictive nature of social media testified for the first time on Thursday, saying she got hooked on YouTube starting at age six and Instagram at nine. By the time she was 10, she said, she had become depressed and was engaging in self-harm.

The woman, who is now 20 and known by her initials KGM, is the lead plaintiff in an expansive lawsuit against YouTube and Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook. The crux of the case alleges social media companies intentionally create addictive products, leading to mental health issues in young people.

KGM testified on Thursday that her use of social media made her anxious and insecure, and features like beauty filters distorted her self-image. But when her mother took away her cellphone, KGM said she would become filled with panic that she was missing out on something. She said she still uses social media today.

“I can’t, it’s too hard to be without it,” she said when questioned by her lawyer in Los Angeles county superior court, according to Reuters.