They find posting feels like a performance rather than real communication
The Instagram logo arranged on a smartphone in Sydney, Australia, on Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. Australia’s controversial new law barring under-16s from social media is one of the toughest crackdowns yet on platforms including Facebook and TikTok as governments worldwide grasp for ways to protect children from harmful content. Photographer: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg
Parents’ attachment to screens and smartphones can have negative, long-lasting developmental and psychological effects on their children, according to new research.
Carefree mother text messaging on smart phone while relaxing next to her family on sofa in the living room. RF
TikTok is finalizing a settlement related to a lawsuit claiming that the world’s largest social media platforms are addictive to minors, according to people familiar with the matter, avoiding a jury trial scheduled for July in Los Angeles.
A child holds a tablet displaying the TikTok logo.
Bidders accustomed to buying prized art or luxury goods were recently introduced to a new category of coveted items at auction: Mementos from the world’s most popular internet stars.
Budgets for investigators are falling behind as AI floods the internet with images
Bedford County Sheriff’s Office ICAC Investigator Caileigh Witcher stands for a portrait in the conference room at the ICAC office, May 26, 2026. Photographer: Parker Michels-Boyce/for Bloomberg News
Meta Platforms Inc. reached an agreement to settle a landmark lawsuit alleging that addiction to Instagram and other top social media platforms upended learning across America and pushed US public schools to spend enormous resources fighting a mental health crisis.
Snap Inc., Google’s YouTube and ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok reached agreements to settle the first lawsuit headed to trial over claims that addiction to top social media platforms has disrupted learning and pushed public schools to spend massive sums fighting a mental health crisis, according to court filings.
The Snapchat logo on a laptop computer arranged in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, US, on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. Snap Inc. shares tumbled about 14% on Wednesday after the company projected its first ever quarterly revenue decline, casting a shadow over other advertising-dependent businesses. Photographer: Tiffany Hagler-Geard/Bloomberg
Snap Inc. declined in extended trading after noting that advertising revenue, a key part of its business, has been hampered by the war in the Middle East.
The Snapchat logo is displayed during the TechFair LA job fair in Los Angeles, California, U.S., on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017. Filings for U.S. unemployment benefits rose more than forecast last week amid holiday-related volatility, while remaining low by historical standards. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg
Social media companies face backlash over safety of youth on their platforms
Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta Platforms Inc., second right, arrives at Los Angeles Superior Court in Los Angeles, California, US, on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. Zuckerberg is set to take the stand at a landmark trial over social media addiction and face a barrage of questions about how Meta Platforms Inc. balances protecting young users on its platforms and boosting revenue. Photographer: Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg
To find real kids in danger, law enforcement must sift through a surge of AI-generated sex imagery.
March 12, 2026. Raleigh, North Carolina. A display in the ICAC Task Forces office shows the criminals apprehended so far in calendar year 2026.Kevin Roughton is the Special Agent in Charge of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. The state received 4,930 cyber tips in 2019 and 50,000 in 2025.
Snap Inc. is laying off roughly 1,000 full-time employees, or 16% of its global workforce, as part of an effort by Chief Executive Officer Evan Spiegel to reduce costs and achieve profitability.
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel informed staffers of sweeping job cuts on Wednesday.
Meta and YouTube try to redefine themselves in light of increasing criticism
Social media app icons for Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X and Reddit are displayed on a smartphone in an arranged photograph in Sydney, Australia, on Wednesday Feb. 11, 2026. Major social media platforms blocked 4.7 million underage accounts in Australia in December as the country’s landmark social media ban for under-16s took effect. Photographer: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg
TikTok advertising leader Khartoon Weiss is leaving the short-form video company, joining a wave of American executives stepping down over the past year.
Alphabet Inc.’s Google is facing demands from child development experts to prohibit videos created with artificial intelligence from being shown or recommended to young viewers across YouTube and YouTube Kids.
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