CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — From the “devious lick challenge,” which encouraged students to steal from their schools, to the “outlet challenge,” in which students are encouraged to place a coin between a phone charger and an electrical outlet — social media trends have lawyers pressing the owners of popular platforms to protect kids.
Chesterfield County Public Schools has joined more than 400 school districts in a lawsuit against the owners of Tik Tok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, saying the content being posted to their platforms has damaged the mental health and wellbeing of students, an in turn, disrupted classroom environments.
“The lawsuit alleges that the social media companies have developed products that are designed to promote compulsive, excessive use in school age children,” legal expert Steve Benjamin told 8News.
The suit references a 2023 study from the United States Surgeon General, which says that 95% of teens between the ages of 13 to 17 reported using a social media platform “almost constantly.”
The lawsuit has three possible outcomes — a verdict in favor of the school districts, one in favor of the social media companies and a settlement.
“Bottom line is, Chesterfield County would not have to pay anything unless they win — and what they would have to pay would be strictly a portion of the monetary award that is made,” said Benjamin. “So, it sounds like a good deal for Chesterfield County.”
Chesterfield County Public Schools is the first school district in the Richmond area to join the lawsuit, but not the first in Virginia. Nearly 20 others in the Commonwealth were already part of the suit when Chesterfield joined.
8News asked Richmond Public Schools and Henrico County Public Schools about whether they plan to join the suit. They both said they were aware of the suit but have not made a decision about whether they will join.
