Kids, as we all know, are very susceptible to just about everything that you can possibly think of..
Remember the days before social media? Perhaps we’re aging ourselves, but we do. We remember when sharing photos meant printing out photos and giving them to family and friends. We remember when “selfie” wasn’t even a word.
Nowadays, it seems that we can’t live without our phones and our devices. These phones are often hardly used for making actual phone calls. Texting, the internet, apps, and social media are a large part of how we all use phones and other devices like tablets on a regular basis.
Now, a Pueblo mother who believes a Facebook addiction has caused serious physical and mental health problems for her 13-year-old daughter has filed a civil lawsuit against the technology conglomerate’s parent company, Meta Platforms Inc., in U.S. District Court in Denver.
Cecelia Tesch filed the lawsuit against Meta and its various Facebook holdings through her attorney Kevin Hannon of the Denver office of Morgan & Morgan, an Orlando, Florida-based law firm. Meta, a Delaware-based corporation, owns Facebook and Instagram and has stated its goal is to build “technologies that help people connect, find communities and grow businesses,” according to its website.
Tesch’s daughter is only referred to “R.P.” in documents, and the mother reportedly stated that her teen became a heavy user of Facebook when she was just seven years old. Tesch alleged that R.P. suffers from depression, anxiety, self-harm, and an eating disorder, and she connects her daughter’s struggles with Meta. She also claimed that her daughter has lost the motivation to even spent time with friends, peers, or family, and R.P. doesn’t have a regular sleep schedule because she receives “constant notifications.”
Tesch accused Meta of purposefully creating a system that preys on the vulnerable. It is unclear what damages she is seeking at this time. Other platforms have faced similar lawsuits from parents. TikTok has found itself on the receiving end of legal trouble from families of children, but their controversies often center around their “challenges” turning deadly.
Tesch’s lawsuit claims, “Meta knowingly exploits teenage vulnerabilities for unjust gain.” In addition, the lawsuit states, “Meta knowingly lacks effective age-verification protocols.”
No word as to why Tesch, as the mom in this situation, allowed her daughter on social media at the age of 7 and why she didn’t limit her daughter’s use of the platform.
Source: AWM
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