Matawan-Aberdeen School District Joins Lawsuit Against Social Media

MATAWAN, NJ — The Matawan-Aberdeen school district has now joined a lawsuit filed against all the biggest social media companies for what school districts say is the harm they knowingly caused children and adolescents.

The lawsuit was against Meta (Facebook and Instagram), TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube. A number of other New Jersey public school districts already joined the suit, such as the Chatham school district, and Matawan-Aberdeen is only the most recent district to join.

The elected members of the Matawan-Aberdeen Board of Education decided in a unanimous vote to have the district join as a plaintiff, according to school superintendent Joseph Majka.

The suit alleges social media companies knowingly lured kids and teens to use their sites. The lawsuit also wants Big Tech to share the costs of providing intervention and care to students struggling with mental health issues.

The lawsuit was filed in February in U.S. District Court in New Jersey and alleges that social media companies harmed students by "ruthlessly extracting every dollar possible with callous regard for the harm to mental health."

"There is a profound risk of harm to youth today because of social media," Majka told Patch Wednesday. "We are fully aware of the uptick in anxiety, depression, self-esteem issues and suicidal ideations in our teens today. The Board of Education made a decision to join the lawsuit to help us better serve our children."