Something had changed. Almost without noticing, Dhisha Kukalakuntla had stopped reading, listening to music, and hanging out with friends. Instead, the 18-year-old from Dallas, Texas, spent every free moment on her phone scanning social media feeds. Seeing a relatable TikTok video about growing up Indian American gave her a rush of happiness. And every time she liked a clip, her “For You” feed would fill with more videos just like it.
“It felt like a never-ending pot of gold,” says Kukalakuntla. A few minutes would quickly turn into hours, “until eventually my brain was too exhausted to accomplish anything I’d set out to do for the day,” she admits. Then regret would kick in, sending her back online to escape the feeling.
Sound familiar? Social media’s growing ability to hook teens and concerns about what that’s doing to their brains and emotions are a big reason why 41 states have filed suit against Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook (see Instagram in Court).
But according to experts, you as a consumer can do many things to avoid getting sucked in—using the strategies on these pages.