Students react as Ontario school boards sue social media giants

After four Ontario school boards launched lawsuits claiming some of the most popular social media apps harm students and disrupt learning, several students at one Toronto high school said they disagreed with the decision. 

The Toronto public and Catholic school boards, along with the Peel and Ottawa-Carleton public boards, are seeking about $4.5 billion in total damages from Meta Platforms, Snap and ByteDance, the parent companies of Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok, according to individual but similar statements of claim filed on Wednesday. 

While students who CBC Toronto spoke to at East York Collegiate Institute agreed that social media is addictive, many don't think the lawsuit is necessary. 

"Teachers should take more initiative to try to take away the phones rather than sue a company over that," said Noah Batina, a Grade 12 student.

Batina said he's old enough to make his own decisions when it comes to social media access. 

"I don't need somebody telling me what I can or cannot consume," he said. "I think it's up to me to choose." 

For student Marlie Aguinaldo, the school boards are going "a little far" with the court actions. Though she's frequently on her phone, she said she still manages to get her work done. 

"I don't see how it's really affecting me negatively if I still succeed in school," Aguinaldo said. 

Apps can promote negative body image: student

The school boards, speaking as a new coalition called Schools for Social Media Change, said in a news release that the apps are "purposefully designed" to deliver harmful content to students. 

The apps expose students to topics such as suicidal ideation, drugs, alcohol, eating disorders, hate speech and sex, particularly content encouraging "non-consensual" sexual activity, according to the coalition . 

"Students are experiencing an attention, learning, and mental health crisis because of prolific and compulsive use of social media products," the news release said.

Student Annamaria Gebril said the apps can promote posts that cause negative body image in young girls. 

But Gerbil said she doesn't let harmful content online "affect [her] as a person." 

"It's just social media at the end of the day," she said.  

Other social media trends can promote dangerous behaviours, including self-harm, said student Leah Leblanc. 

She said that social media can prevent her from doing more productive activities, like reading a book. However, usage is ultimately about "student control," she said.  

"If you can't control your intake of social media, then I don't think it's the company's problem," she said.  

Several students said the Toronto District School Board already blocks access to TikTok on school WiFi. Snapchat and Instagram are still accessible, student Maeve Carey said. 

Since the TikTok algorithm suggests content for a user based on their viewing history, "if you're watching depressing stuff, there's going to be a lot of depressing stuff," Carey said. 

"It'll just make you feel worse."

WATCH | How social media is changing the way kids behave: 

What social media scrolling is doing to kids’ brains

1 year ago

Duration 7:52

With most children and teenagers spending hours a day on a smartphone, CBC’s Christine Birak breaks down what research shows about how using social media is changing kids’ behaviour, if it's rewiring their brains and what can be done about it.

Some students also said their parents have played a role in regulating their social media access. 

Anthony Dinadis said he doesn't use social media without his parents' permission. His parents also have the ability to block his internet access through their Wi-Fi provider at home, he said.