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Closing Arguments Begin in Landmark Social Media Addiction Trial
In closing arguments for the first social media addiction trial to make tech giants face a jury, the plaintiff’s lawyer lambasted social platforms for profiting from users’ attention, likening their features to a Trojan horse. The plaintiff, identified in court as Kaley and in documents by her initials, K.G.M., is at the center of a bellwether case that could set a legal precedent for whether social media platforms are responsible for causing mental health issues in children.
Her lawsuit accuses social media companies of deliberately designing their platforms to be more addictive to children for the purposes of profit. K.G.M., who was a minor at the time of the incidents outlined in her lawsuit, testified last month that her nearly nonstop use of social media “really affected [her] self-worth.” “How do you make a child never put down the phone? That’s called the engineering of addiction. They engineered it, they put these features on the phones,” K.G.M.’s lawyer Mark Lanier said in court Thursday. “These are Trojan horses: they look wonderful and great … but you invite them in and they take over.”
Lanier compared Instagram’s endless scroll and YouTube’s autoplay to free tortilla chips at a restaurant. He noted that engagement metrics and notifications keep users hooked, adding that teenagers especially struggle to regulate their own usage because they crave social approval and lack the resolve an adult might have.
Opening Arguments Begin in First Illinois Trial Against Abbott Over Its Formula for Premature Babies
Four Illinois mothers would never have allowed their prematurely born babies to be fed a specialized formula made by Abbott Laboratories had they known about the risks, an attorney for the parents argued in court Monday, while a lawyer for the company countered that the formula is not dangerous and that additional warnings about it would not have prevented the infants from getting sick.
Attorneys for the parents and north suburban-based Abbott Laboratories faced off during opening arguments Monday in the first trial to hit Cook County Circuit Court over the issue of whether specialized, cow’s milk-based formula made by Abbott for babies born prematurely causes a serious intestinal disease called necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).
The trial is part of a much larger legal tussle over the matter, with potential implications for Abbott and for families of babies born prematurely nationwide. The cases now at trial in Chicago are among more than 1,700 over the issue Abbott is facing across the country. This is only the third time cases against Abbott over the issue have gone to trial. The other two trials — in Missouri state court — had opposite results, with one ending in a $495 million verdict against Abbott and the jury finding the company not liable in the other.
Teens Sleep Longer and Perform Better When School Starts Later
Many high school students find it hard to fall asleep early, which makes waking up for early morning classes a challenge. The reason lies in biology. During adolescence, the body’s internal clock naturally shifts later, meaning teenagers tend to feel alert later at night than adults do. Because of this shift, many teens cannot fall asleep early enough to get sufficient rest before school.
As the week goes on, the problem often worsens. Most teenagers already start the week short on sleep, and the ongoing mismatch between their biological rhythms and early school schedules causes sleep deprivation to accumulate over several days.
“This is concerning, as chronic sleep deprivation not only affects well-being, but also has a measurable impact on mental health, physical development and the ability to learn,” says Oskar Jenni of the University of Zurich (UZH).
Jenni, a developmental pediatrician, explains that teenagers’ natural sleep patterns prevent them from going to bed early enough to meet their sleep needs. Allowing school to start later in the morning could therefore offer meaningful benefits. Although the advantages of later start times have been examined in many countries, fewer studies have looked at flexible systems that let students choose between earlier or later start times.
Poor Oral Health in Childhood Linked to Later Heart Attack, Stroke, or Coronary Artery Disease
Children with worse oral health were more likely to experience heart attack, stroke, or coronary artery disease as adults, according to a new study based on data from multiple national health databases in Denmark. Nikoline Nygaard, a postdoctoral fellow in health and medical sciences at the University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark and lead author of the study said the association “reframes the way we understand oral disease, not as something that just happens in the mouth, but as something that affects the whole body as early as childhood.”
Nygaard and her team analyzed data on oral health in 568,000 children in the National Child Odontology Registry (SCOR) from 1972 through 1987 and matched it up with anonymized cardiovascular disease outcomes and demographic data from the National Patient Register and the Central Person register, respectively.
The results published in The International Journal of Cardiology showed boys with the greatest number of cavities, affecting 13-16 teeth, had a 32% higher incidence of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease later in life compared with those with cavities in 0-4 teeth.
15-Year Study Shows Sharp Rise in Depression Among U.S. College Students
U.S. News & World Report reported:
For nearly two decades, the mental health of American college students has been on a downward slide. A massive new analysis — to be published April 1 in the Journal of Affective Disorders — found that depression is not only becoming more common but is also hitting certain groups much harder than others.
The study, led by the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, tracked health survey data collected from more than 560,000 U.S. college students from 2007 to 2022. It found that the average score on a standard questionnaire that doctors use to measure the severity of depression has climbed every single year. The steepest increases were reported from 2016 onward, with recent averages a clinical concern, researchers said.
While many depression symptoms are on the rise, none has increased as dramatically as suicidal thoughts. Over the 15-year period, reported thoughts of suicide surged by nearly 154%. Other major issues reported included restlessness, which jumped by nearly 80%, and trouble concentrating, which rose more than 77%.
Life With My Autistic Sons: ‘How Do You Explain All the Worries, the Sleepless Nights?’
My conversation with James Hunt begins the usual way: an exchange of hellos, followed by the most mundane of questions. “How are you?” I ask. Although he responds predictably — “I’m all right … I’m good” — we both know that underneath this answer lurks a whole world of experience, and the plain fact that some people’s everyday lives are lived in extraordinary circumstances.
Six months ago, this fortysomething father was leading the kind of life that might have caused plenty of people to break into small emotional pieces. In his Essex home town, he had long since moved back in with his elderly father, who had Parkinson’s and needed round-the-clock care from his son. His mum, who has dementia, was living in a nearby residential home.
Meanwhile, the story that comes closest to defining him was continuing as he looked after his teenage autistic and learning-disabled sons, Jude and Tommy, and coped with massively difficult parental challenges — not least a constant lack of sleep.
6-Year-Olds Want Makeup. These Brands Are Cashing In
The Wall Street Journal reported:
Courtney Bowers always knew that one day her daughters would ask to wear makeup. She just didn’t expect it to happen at 6 years old. Initially, she balked. “I don’t want my daughter to think that makeup or anything else is what makes you beautiful,” said the mother of four who lives outside of Pittsburgh. After serious consideration and discussions about “character, kindness and that all that matters is that we’re loved by God,” Bowers acquiesced.
She bought products from the children’s makeup brand Klee Naturals. Her daughter Emmy now wears its blush and eye shadow to church, birthday parties and school events. “It’s for her to feel fancy, not to feel beautiful,” Bowers, 32, said. As Sephora tweens splurge on antiaging serums and face mists, an even younger cohort is looking for its entry into beauty and skin care. A new generation of brands designed specifically for children is cashing in.
“Girls see their sisters, moms and aunts putting on makeup and want to mimic,” said Priscilla Cheung, the founder of Klee Naturals. “It’s fun, it’s harmless, it’s a bonding experience.” Cheung’s brand sells at Nordstrom, Amazon and about 700 other specialty stores, mostly to girls ages 5 to 7. It makes $10 mineral eye shadows, $12 blushes and $15 lip glosses. The Texas-based business has been around for over a decade but began seeing “tremendous growth” in 2024, Cheung said. Sales now hover near $4 million, she said.
