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The problem with social media isn’t the algorithm — it’s the parenting

April 7, 2026

As Big Tech companies face legal backlash for addictive features and potential mental health risk, parents are ceding responsibility for what happens inside the home.

On March 25th, Meta and Google were ordered by a California court to pay $6 million in damages to a 20 year old woman who claims she got addicted to Youtube and Instagram as a child, leading to her struggle with anxiety and depression. It’s among the first successful lawsuits in the nation making social media sites liable for mental health outcomes.

While this lawsuit could open the door to further litigation and regulation, the decision may not stand. Both companies plan to appeal the decision, with Meta stating that teenage mental health is “profoundly complex and cannot be linked to a single app.”

The lawsuit took issue with the system design of these social media sites, specifically, the infinite scroll feature. This design keeps users engaged for as long as possible with an endless stream of tailored content fed to their screens. By focusing on the algorithm as opposed to the content, the lawsuit attempted to avoid First Amendment issues, but the simple arranging of speech likely constitute speech itself.

As First Amendment lawyer Ari Cohn wrote, “the ways platforms arrange, display, and choose how users consume content are editorial choices that are protected by the First Amendment.” If the arrangement of that content is captivating? Well, “that is the point of all media.”

To put it bluntly, we are suing Meta and Google for making a product too good.

Most parents know the risks of social media, because they themselves use the platforms. Last year, a Pew Research Poll revealed that 55% of parents are extremely or very concerned about teens’ mental health as opposed to only 35% of teenagers. But are these parents taking action?

The Family Online Safety Institute reported that children’s screen time and parental control usage are inversely related. Parents taking an active role has an impact, but as of last year, less than half of parents are fully utilizing the parental controls made available to them by tech companies. And in 2024, Discord and Snapchat reported that only 1% of parents were utilizing their child safety monitoring tools.

Big Tech lawsuits, such as the one coming out of California, shift blame away from guardians to tech companies who are simply making their products maximally enjoyable. This is akin to suing a grocery store for having too much candy right next to the register or placing the brightly colored cereal boxes close to the floor. Ultimately, the buck stops with the parent.

At a deeper level, this is a gluttony issue. In modern America food is too accessible and delicious, so it’s easy to overeat. Social media is too enjoyable and captivating, so it’s easy to waste time and attention.

In this age of excess and endless wish granting, self denial becomes a superpower and a necessity. Children don’t yet have mastery over their impulses, so parents must learn to say no for them. The solution to social media induced mental illness is not allowing your child to use social media. It’s that simple.

We cannot fully regulate or sue our way into fixing what is ultimately a spiritual issue. Instead of pursuing the favored American pastime of making a buck off of big corporations through excessive litigation and passing off responsibility for what happens in our homes to faceless algorithms, we should try putting down our phones.

A movement for tech-free and tech-limited living has begun. Silicon Valley tech CEOs are sending their own children to tech-free schools. Parents are signing the Wait Until 8th Pledge, promising not to give their children smartphones until eighth grade. Young adults in big cities are starting run clubs, craft circles, and finding other ways to log off and connect. And tech companies are emerging with creative solutions to screen time addiction.

Parents have the ultimate responsibility for what products their children engage with. If I saw a child smoking on the side of the road, I wouldn’t think to ring up Big Tobacco and give them a piece of my mind. I’d try to find their parents.

Many people feel out of control with their own social media habits, leaving them feeling ashamed and unable to regulate their children’s usage. But this is not the fault of Big Tech, and as adults we must take responsibility for our own habits. We have nearly everything we could ever want, which presents a problem no judge or legislator can fix.

If we were to regulate social media out of existence, we’d still be glued to our television screens, struggling to lose weight, and drinking too much. As we move away from extreme scarcity our standards of living rise. Our standards for ourselves should rise along with them.

Maggie Anders is a video journalist and political commentator. Her work explores international political movements, history, pop culture, economics, the cost-of-living crisis, and Gen Z social issues. Follow her on X @maggiemoda

Orange County Register

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The problem with social media isn’t the algorithm — it’s the parenting

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