Canadian man sues Instagram, YouTube and TikTok for being ‘too addictive’

The 24-year-old man has limited his social media use to just two hours a day but says the apps continue to disrupt his productivity and sleep.

Social media addiction (Representational image/Pexels)

There’s no denying that social media platforms can be taxing as users spend hours mindlessly scrolling and watching videos, both short and long. Now a Canadian man has sued Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok for being “too addictive”.

The 24-year-old man, who hails from Montreal, began using social media in 2015 and claimed that since then he had suffered issues with his productivity and developed negative views towards his body image, the Dexerto website reported. The man has limited his social media use to just two hours a day, but he alleges that the apps continue to disrupt his productivity and sleep.

According to the report, Lambert Avocats, a Montreal-based law firm, is handling the case. Naming TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, the firm claimed these platforms have been designed to increase dopamine secretion, which causes addiction. The firm also argued that these companies were “negligent” in designing the applications as they wanted their users to be dependent on them.

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In June, New York passed two laws to protect children from social media addiction. According to reports, The Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (Safe) for Kids Act forbids social media companies from notifying minors between 12 am and 6 am about addictive feeds and mandates that they limit access to addictive feeds for users under the age of 18.

The New York Child Data Protection Act, on the other hand, prohibits internet companies from gathering, using, disclosing, or selling any personal information of people under the age of 18 unless they have permission in writing or it is essential for the website’s operation.