Case guide
Start with what happened to your child and the messages you have. Ask for a health and legal check that fits those facts.
Updated Oct 4, 202611 sources
See If You Qualify
Free · No obligation · About 2 minutes
Updated Oct 4, 202611 sources
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Kira E. Riehm · Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health · Lead author of the 2019 cohort study
Finding: The 2019 study linked more reported social media time with later reports of inward distress, alone or alongside behavior problems.
Associations Between Time Spent Using Social Media and Internalizing and Externalizing Problems Among US Youth (opens in a new tab) · Sep 11, 2019 · Checked Oct 3, 2026
Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health · JAMA Psychiatry · 2019
Read the source: Associations Between Time Spent Using Social Media and Internalizing and Externalizing Problems Among US Youth (opens in a new tab) · Checked Oct 3, 2026
Office of the U.S. Surgeon General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services · 2023
Read the source: Social Media and Youth Mental Health: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory (opens in a new tab) · Checked Oct 3, 2026
The process
You answer a few questions
About two minutes. Nothing is sent until you agree on the last step and press submit.
A lawyer looks at it
A lawyer at the firm reads your answers and checks them against the current case criteria.
The firm decides and gets in touch
If the firm takes your case, you get the terms in writing to read before you sign. You can always say no.
Start with the harm your child experienced and the records you have. A claim about heavy use differs from a claim about sexual threats or abuse.
New Mexico’s September 2024 announcement describes allegations about sexual exploitation, warnings and content described as disappearing. Those allegations are not a finding that streaks caused a mental-health condition. Ask a lawyer which account history and legal pathway match your child’s experience.
The state claims that Snap put children at risk of abuse and threats. The announcement is not proof of what happened to your child.
Keep the messages and notices already available to you. Note who sent them, which account received them and when. Ask investigators or a lawyer how to preserve records without contacting the suspect or seeking more harmful content. Do not assume the marketing description proves what happened to one file.
The youth study asked about social media time and symptoms. It did not test Snap or prove a cause for one child’s illness.
The study found links with reported inward distress. Time and symptoms were self-reported, and other factors could explain the results. Ask a health provider to assess school, sleep, relationships and other pressures along with app use.
Write down the account names, use dates and harm you want checked. Keep health, school and billing records that you already have.
Separate first-hand observations from estimates and from what someone told you. Ask about lawful access to missing records before trying to obtain them. A civil claim requires evidence about harm and alleged responsibility, not just the fact that your child had an account.
Seek help for distress that lasts weeks or affects daily life. If your child talks about self-harm or harming someone else, get help at once.
Tell the care provider what has changed and what you observed online. Care does not need to wait for a legal decision. In a mental-health crisis call or text 988; call 911 in a life-threatening situation.
Ask how the firm charges for a Snap-related claim. Check who pays to get messages and other records.
Ask whether costs for records or expert help are included in the lawyer’s fee or charged separately. Ask what happens to those expenses if the case loses. Keep the written terms and the name of the firm handling the actual messages or harm you described.
Write down the contact and report dates you know. Ask a lawyer to check the time limit for the actual harm.
Keep any account name, report reply and outside-app contact date with your timeline. Mark gaps where messages are missing rather than guessing. Ask what can be preserved next, whether the firm will represent you and what date governs a court filing.
Teens spending 3+ hours daily on social media face double the risk of anxiety and depression symptoms
Rates of teen depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide increased sharply beginning in 2012 — coinciding with widespread smartphone and social media adoption
Habitual social media checking in early adolescence is associated with changes in brain sensitivity to social feedback over time
The review is free and private. Asking for it doesn’t commit you to anything.
Ask a law firm to review your caseThe advisory does not identify Snapchat streaks specifically. It says social media platforms are often designed to maximize engagement, and it lists push notifications, autoplay, infinite scroll, likes, and recommendation algorithms as examples. It does not decide causation for any teenager.
Source: U.S. Surgeon General: Social Media and Youth Mental Health Advisory · as of Oct 7, 2026
No. The MDL page lists Snap among defendants in MDL 3047 and summarizes plaintiffs' allegations about addictive platform design and youth harms. It does not report a Snap settlement, so a lawyer can check the current docket before relying on settlement rumors.
Source: N.D. Cal. Social Media MDL 3047 · as of Oct 7, 2026
Not from the advisory alone. It says harmful content can spread through direct pushes, unwanted content exchanges, and algorithmic designs, and it identifies predatory behaviors and online harassment as concerns. It does not decide whether Snapchat caused a child's harm.
Source: U.S. Surgeon General: Social Media and Youth Mental Health Advisory · as of Oct 7, 2026
Checked against 11 primary sources by People's Justice editors · Updated
How we make moneyPeople's Justice research team · Updated Oct 4, 2026