Case guide
Get urgent help for any safety concern. For a family claim, preserve the records you have and ask a lawyer about your role and dates.
Updated Oct 4, 202610 sources
See If You Qualify
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Updated Oct 4, 202610 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.
If someone is in a mental-health crisis, call or text 988. Call 911 for a life-threatening situation.
NIMH says unsafe behavior or talk about harming self or others needs immediate help. Care comes before collecting records for a claim. Ask a health provider about urgent support for a child or surviving family member who is struggling.
Keep the records your family has. Ask a lawyer how to save devices, messages and account files.
Write down dates, usernames and who has a device or account records. Mark an estimated date as an estimate. Ask about lawful access before trying to enter another person’s account. Give a lawyer the known facts and ask what else is needed.
The 2019 study asked about social media time and symptoms. It did not test the cause of one person’s death.
The study found population-level links with reported inward distress. It used a screener rather than a diagnostic interview, and other causes could explain the link. Do not treat a time-use category as a rule that determines responsibility for your family’s loss.
Ask a lawyer which person can bring the claim under the law that applies. Give them the family relationship, dates and places involved.
Ask what documents show who can act for the deceased person or the family. Do not assume every relative has the same legal role. A court claim requires an assessment of the law and the person seeking relief, as well as evidence of the alleged harm.
Ask who needs each record and how it will be handled before sending it. Keep a list of what you share and with whom.
Bring questions about health records, private messages and records of the death to the lawyer. Ask whether a document should go to a health provider, investigator or legal team. Avoid posting private family details online to seek a payout estimate.
Ask for the fee terms before agreeing to a family claim. Check who pays for records and other expenses.
Ask which firm would act for the person legally able to bring the claim. Request a plain explanation of the fee, case expenses and costs if the case loses. Keep the signed terms and a list of any records you provide so the family can track the legal work.
Keep the loss, account and family-role dates you know. Ask a lawyer to check the filing rules for your circumstances.
Give the lawyer the dates and places involved and ask who may act for the deceased person or family. Mark unknown dates rather than taking them from another case. Ask whether the firm has agreed to act and who will explain the next filing step.
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 caseNot from the advisory alone. It discusses suicide- and self-harm-related content on social media and says some childhood deaths have been linked to that content and risk-taking challenges. A lawyer can review records and current case law.
Source: U.S. Surgeon General: Social Media and Youth Mental Health Advisory · as of Oct 7, 2026
Possibly. The advisory says a review of studies found a consistent relationship between cyberbullying via social media and depression among children and adolescents. It also discusses suicide- and self-harm-related content and suicidal thoughts in the context of poor sleep, but it does not prove causation for one teen.
Source: U.S. Surgeon General: Social Media and Youth Mental Health Advisory · as of Oct 7, 2026
Wrongful death statutes of limitations vary by state but typically range from 1 to 3 years from the date of death. Many states apply a discovery rule that may extend the deadline if the connection between social media and the death was not immediately apparent. Because the causal link between social media design and teen suicide is a relatively recent legal theory, courts may consider when the family reasonably could have discovered the connection. Whether that time has passed depends on your facts, so don't rule yourself out. A lawyer can tell you. The initial consultation is free and confidential, and an attorney can determine the applicable deadline and preserve the claim.
Checked against 10 primary sources by People's Justice editors · Updated
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