Lampe: Social media companies are ‘not concerned’ with the health and wellness of users

A Seattle school district is suing multiple social media companies, arguing that their platforms are causing harm to students’ mental health. But whose responsibility is it to ensure that students are protected against the negative impacts of social media? 

An article by Forbes poses this question to University of Michigan School of Information professor and digital communications expert Cliff Lampe. 

"The platforms are built around commoditized attention, and they're not concerned with health and wellness. They want to keep us engaged, so they have the same care as a shepherd has for his flock," Lampe says.

Lampe adds that some of the responsibility falls on social media users to implement safeguards around their social media habits. 

"We need to be more social media literate so that we're able to self-identify when we're 'doom scrolling' or simply spending too much time on the platforms," Lampe says. 

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Read “Seattle Public Schools Launch Legal Fight Against Social Media Companies” on Forbes. 

Learn more about professor of information and associate dean for academic affairs Cliff Lampe’s research interests and publications by visiting his faculty profile.