FLORENCE, KY. — Kentucky is one of 33 states suing Meta Platforms Inc., claiming the company has knowingly designed features that contribute to children becoming addicted to its social media platforms.

Those features are contributing to a mental health crisis for young people, according to the lawsuit.

However, one mom tells Spectrum News 1 she thinks it’s up to parents, not the government, to protect their kids.

Candace Nordine tries to live a balanced life. But like so many people, it can be hard for her to get away from her work. Her work requires her to post content on social media, so she spends a lot of time on social media platforms.

But she tries to limit her use, and she especially tries to limit her four daughters’ use of social media.

“We have a policy in our home. It’s like at any point in time, I can pick up your phone, and look and see what you’ve been doing, where you’ve been going,” Nordine said. “We even came up with a cellphone contract. And it was like, ‘Ok, these are things that are important to us, and if they’re not followed at any point, then your device will be gone.’ It’s not hard, but it does take time,” she added.

In fact, her oldest daughter was just permitted to use social media early this year, and her younger daughters don’t even have devices. That’s becoming more rare to hear about families, but Nordine said it’s because she and her husband are worried about the effects social media could have on their kids’ development.

“I think it’s something that every parent needs to be cautious about. You do see it everywhere. It is addictive,” she said. “It’s gotten really bad. Kids have mental health issues, they have insecurities, anxiety, suicide is the number two killer of teenage girls. The effects are real, and if we don’t do something, then it’s only going to get worse.”

Those statistics are from research Nordine and her husband discovered from psychologist Dr. Jean Twenge from San Diego State University, which also showed social media is the number one source of depression and anxiety for teenage girls.

Those are the kinds of issues that led to 33 states, including Kentucky, to file a federal lawsuit against Meta. 

“They’re saying that they’re using noises and haptics that they know overstimulate children and hurt their sleep. They say that Meta knows that it is collecting data of children and persists on it, and that they’ve made Instagram for children, and indeed that they have built in, on purpose, these sort of desire-to-return aspects that creates a possible state of addiction,” said Kakie Urch, associate professor of multimedia at the University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media.

Urch has taught students at UK how to effectively use social media since 2008. She has often pondered philosophical questions.

“Is social media a positive, or in fact, evil?” she wondered. 

She said it’s important to think about the possibilities that have been created through social media in terms of communication, sharing culture and distributing information during major events like disasters.

“Are the really troubling things that happen on social media, which include racist and homophobic and violent perceptions, and also perhaps subtle changing of basic human actions, are those worth it?” Urch said. “I think in general, social media is a chaotic good.”

“It changes the way people order their thinking, and their world. And it’s not necessarily bad,” Urch said. “But they need to have the right to choose that context, and also if they’re underaged and their laws protect them because they’re minors, that those laws are applied in that context.”

The lawsuit seeks damages and an end to the alleged practices.

Nordine said she’d love to see the states prevail, but she doesn’t think a victory in court will go very far in fixing the problem.

“You can sue companies until the cows come home. But really, it’s the parents’ responsibility. I feel like otherwise you are abdicating your responsibility as a parent to social media, essentially,” she said. “It’s teaching kids how to live again without always having a device, that it’s the first thing they turn to.”