• Posted March 27, 2026

$3M Verdict Links Social Media to Anxiety and Depression

What happens when scrolling never really stops? For one young woman, it led to anxiety, depression and a loss of self-worth.

In a landmark case, jurors found that Meta and YouTube were negligent in the design and operation of their social platforms, contributing to the harm endured by a 20-year-old woman, who was identified in court as K.G.M. 

She testified that using the platforms almost nonstop led to depression, anxiety and body image issues.

It “really affected my self-worth,” she said.

Jurors agreed. They found that the companies failed to warn users about potential risks and that their platforms were a substantial factor in her harm, NBC News reported.

The lawsuit is the first to go to trial over claims that social media can be addictive and harmful to mental health.

The jury awarded K.G.M. $3 million in damages, with Meta being 70% responsible and YouTube 30%.

The trial is among more than 1,600 cases filed against tech companies by more than 350 families and 250 school districts.

Lawyers for K.G.M. called the decision "a historic moment," NBC News said.

“But this verdict is bigger than one case,” the lawyers said. “For years, social media companies have profited from targeting children while concealing their addictive and dangerous design features. Today’s verdict is a referendum — from a jury, to an entire industry — that accountability has arrived.”

K.G.M. said she felt compelled to stay on social media constantly and worried about missing out if she decided to log off.

One of her attorneys, Mark Lanier, said he hopes the case brings more transparency "so that the public can see that these companies have been orchestrating an addiction crisis in our country and, actually, the world."

Both companies plan to appeal.

"Teen mental health is profoundly complex and cannot be linked to a single app," a spokesperson for Meta said. "We will continue to defend ourselves vigorously as every case is different, and we remain confident in our record of protecting teens online."

José Castañeda is a spokesperson for Google, which owns YouTube. He said the case "misunderstands YouTube, which is a responsibly built streaming platform, not a social media site."

Representatives for Meta, whose Instagram platform was at issue, said that other factors may have contributed to K.G.M.’s "profound" struggles, including "significant emotional and physical abuse" earlier in her life, rather than social media.

In a separate case, a jury in New Mexico recently found Meta liable for failing to protect children from online predators. The company was ordered to pay $375 million in that case. Meta plans to appeal.

For years, tech companies have been protected from lawsuits by a provision added to the Communications Act of 1934. Known as Section 230, it says online companies aren’t liable for the content that its users post.

Experts say the ruling could make way for similar cases across the country.

"Families pursuing justice in other jurisdictions can now point to this outcome as proof that these claims deserve to be heard and taken seriously," Matt Bergman, founding attorney of the Social Media Victims Law Center, said.

More information

Stanford Law School has more on social media and mental health.

SOURCE: NBC News, March 25, 2026