James Donaldson on Mental Health - How to Improve Mental Health Safety on Social Media – Not Just for Young People

by Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan contact patient services Newswise — Juries in California and New Mexico recently found social media companies liable for opening young people up to mental health harm, suicide risk and other safety issues in two major court cases.

As punishment, they imposed hundreds of millions of dollars in financial penalties.

Meanwhile, other social media companies had already settled out of court in the California case for unknown sums, rather than wait for a verdict.

Many more court cases are still in process.

And federal regulators, Congress, state governments and social media companies are talking about requiring age verification, better monitoring, and more.

But young people, parents, and all social media users have options now to protect their mental health, and don't have to wait for juries, judges, lawmakers or companies to act, say experts from University of Michigan Health and their colleagues.

They’ve launched an easy-to-follow and free “Social Media Mini Course” that walks anyone through key settings on different social media platforms that users can change to make their experience more positive, and less risky, if they choose to stay on social media.

It’s available through the Instagram account @socialmediaminicourse , or directly, as an interactive webpage.

A link in the Instagram account’s bio leads to a page of even more information and free tools , as well as to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

The settings featured in the mini course – from disabling like counts on Instagram to refreshing the For You feed on TikTok – disrupt some potentially harmful properties of the platforms for young minds.