SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Some teenagers never seem to be able to get off their smart phones.
It’s a problem many families face as parents are looking for ways to better support their teenagers from the mental health strains of social media use.
Recently, a coalition of more than a dozen attorneys general from around the country are filing lawsuits against TikTok, alleging the social media app exploits and harms young users.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta is one of the people leading the effort.
"We're suing the social media giant for exploiting young users and deceiving the public about the vast dangers the platform poses to our youth," Bonta said.
This comes after a two-and-a-half year investigation into TikTok for its practices and the impact it has on young people's mental health and wellbeing.
"They have chosen profit over the health of our children," Bonta said. "Youth addiction is a key and central pillar to TikTok’s business model."
In a statement to ABC10, a TikTok spokesperson said "We strongly disagree with these claims, many of which we believe to be inaccurate and misleading."
They continued to say, "We provide robust safeguards, proactively remove suspected underage users, and have voluntarily launched safety features..."
Clinical and forensic psychologist Dr. Andrew Mendonsa said social media use has been linked to negative mental health outcomes for youth and noted an uptick in anxiety and depression among 12-15 year olds.
"A lot of problems around depression, anxiety, sleep problems, concentration are linked to excessive use of social media," Dr. Mendonsa said, adding that there's also a lot of issues with body image and eating disorders.
Also this week, California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom held a roundtable discussion with representatives from TikTok, Meta and Pinterest about responsible social media use and youth mental health.
A project called the Tech/Life Balance series was also launched, helping families navigate life in a digital world and keep kids safe online.
"From my own bottom of my heart, we've been wanting to do this for a very long time," Siebel Newsom said.
Dr. Mendonsa said balance is important. He recommended allowing social media use in moderation and having a conversation with your kids to set up rules for use in collaboration.
WATCH ALSO:
