Alexis was a typical 11-year-old. She loved musical theater and Webkinz. But when she started using Instagram, her normal pre-teen curiosities triggered the social media app to flood her feed with content about anorexia and how to hide eating disorders from your parents. Over the next few years, Alexis' mental health deteriorated so much that she had to be hospitalized. Some families aren't so lucky.
Teen suicide rates have skyrocketed since 2007, and some research has begun to correlate that with the rise of algorithmic, for-profit social media. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok have become central to teenagers social lives, and it's probably not an accident.
Today, Alexis Spence has made a full recovery from her eating disorder, and with her mom Kathleen, has become an advocate for social media reform, especially through legal action. Alli and Lindsey talk with them, along with their lawyer, Matt Bergman, who co-founded the Social Media Victims Law Center. When suing Meta on behalf of families, his legal approach comes from product liability: If tech companies know their products are addictive and harmful to children and choose not to address that, they should be held accountable.
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253 Why Would Anyone In Their Right Mind Post on r/RoastMe?
252 Schools Are Suing Social Media Over Kids' Mental Health. Can They Win? (w/ Samantha Murphy Kelly, CNN)
Autcraft: The Minecraft Server for Kids With Autism [ENCORE]
251 Her Epic Swag Collection Grows With Every Failed Tech Company (ft. Christina Warren)
250 Let's Go Inside a Catfishing Factory
249 Roast Alli as Hard as You Can
248 "Data Is Power" | Inside the Wild World of Excel Esports
247 Thousands of People Are Still Using (and Modifying) Their iPods
246 Adult Fans of 'Bluey' (Don't Worry, It's Wholesome)
245 How Many Handshakes Does It Take You to Get to Hitler?
244 Shout-Out to Gavin From REI
243 Emoji Are Deciding Court Cases but the Legal System Is Still ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Tracing the Roots of Modern Web Culture Back to "Something Awful" [ENCORE]
242 Could (Should?) an AI Lawyer Argue in the Supreme Court?
241 Your Not-Resolutions for 2023
Why Are So Many People Obsessed With This Supermarket Aisle? [ENCORE]
240 The Hilariously Weird Things Lurking in the "Depths of Wikipedia"
239 How to Get Underrepresented Scientists on Wikipedia
This Subreddit Sends Holiday Gifts to Kids in Need [ENCORE]
238 Where Are All the Funny Astronauts?
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