Algorithmic Addiction

“The problem facing humanity

is that we have Palaeolithic

emotions, medieval institutions

and God-like technology.”

— E.O. Wilson

A courtroom verdict delivered half-way around the world in California may end up forcing India to confront a scratchy question in this digital age: Are social media platforms designed in a way that can harm the very users they claim to connect? In a closely-watched case in the US, a jury ruled that platforms operated by Meta and services owned by Google contributed to mental harm suffered by a young user, who argued that exposure to their platforms deepened her depression and fostered addictive behavioural patterns.

The lawsuit centred on widely-used services Instagram and YouTube. The plaintiff claimed the platforms were not merely neutral tools for communication, but “deliberately engineered environments designed to maximise engagement, especially among younger users”. After hearing expert testimony and reviewing evidence, jurors concluded that the companies had been negligent. They awarded damages as well.

Experts believe this scathing verdict could lead to a turning point in how the tech industry is scrutinised. For decades, digital platforms have relied on legal protections that shield them from responsibility for content posted by users. This particular case bypassed that defence entirely, focusing on product design alone. The moot question before the court was not what users posted, but how the platforms themselves were built. If digital platforms begin to be examined like other consumer products – as one whose design may create risk for the user – the implications will extend far beyond a single lawsuit in the United States.

For India, the debate could not be more relevant.

Keen Model of Attention

For years, psychologists and tech critics have argued that modern social media platforms are engineered around one overriding objective; to capture and hold human attention. Every single notification, every algorithmically-curated reel, every endless scroll is designed to keep users engaged for as long as possible. The longer users stay on a platform, the more advertisements they see. And the more revenue the platform generates. This is the essence of what economists call the ‘Attention Economy’. The mechanism works through a feedback loop. Platforms analyse what users watch, pause on, like or comment on, and quickly supply more of the same. ‘Autoplay’ removes natural stopping points. Infinite feeds ensure there is always another video, another image or another conversation waiting in the protocol stack.

For adults, this may result in distraction or habitual phone-checking. For adolescents, the psychological pull can be stronger. Teenagers are particularly sensitive to social validation. Social media converts validation into hard numbers, such as likes, shares, comments and follower counts. Identity formation, historically shaped largely by family, school and neighbourhood, is now being scrutinized by digital audiences.

Researchers are increasingly linking social media use with sleep disruption, anxiety and depression among young people. In India, studies show smartphone addiction is affecting 39-44 per cent of users, a number that highlights the numbing scale of the problem. The lawsuit in the US did not argue that harmful online content exists. It argued that the very architecture of social media platforms encourages compulsive behaviour. That claim is now echoing beyond Silicon Valley, with its reverberations being felt in India.

India’s Digital Boom

Few countries illustrate the scale of the digital takeover more vividly than India. The country has seen the fastest expansion of connectivity anywhere in the world. Affordable smartphones, cheap data prices and expanding digital infrastructure have brought crores online. Platforms like Instagram, YouTube, WhatsApp and Facebook are now part of everyday life. Students team up through messaging groups, influencers build careers through quick-see videos and businesses reach customers through social media marketing. For young Indians, the Internet is not a tool; it is the central arena of social interaction and aspiration.

Yet, the speed of this transformation has produced anxieties, perhaps because India has the largest adolescent population in the world. Studies on digital behaviour show that young Indians and teenagers spend four to five hours a day glued to their screens. Teachers are reporting shrinking attention spans in classrooms. Parents are struggling to regulate screen-time with smartphones becoming ubiquitous. India’s classrooms are reporting declining concentration and anxiety among students due to screen addiction.

Mental health experts are seeing similar patterns. Doctors in Coimbatore and Bengaluru are tracking cases where teenagers show symptoms of behavioural addiction to phones – anxiety, sleep disruption and compulsive checking of social feeds. The trend is not limited to the elite. As cheaper smartphones reach small towns and rural regions, patterns of social media abuse are being reported across socioeconomic boundaries. Clearly, the digital revolution has moved faster than the society’s ability to adapt.

Debate is Yet to Begin

Disturbingly, India’s regulatory conversation on this issue has been focused on issues like misinformation, online abuse, national security and data protection. Government policies have cracked down on content moderation and accountability for unlawful posts, these being legitimate concerns in a vast and diverse nation. But the US verdict raises a deeper question: whether the design of digital platforms is itself creating psychological risks, particularly among children and teenagers. If courts begin examining algorithms, recommendation engines and engagement features, India will become part of the dialogue. After all, it represents one of the largest user bases for the very platforms that are now under scrutiny. Digital policy experts are asking whether safeguards like algorithmic transparency, stronger protection for minors and limits on addictive features should be brought under regulatory scrutiny. The question is not whether social media should exist; it is whether the digital ecosystem should operate without meaningful guardrails.

The debate is not merely technological; it is profoundly social too. A generation of young Indians is growing up in a world where identity, popularity and self-worth are being measured through digital metrics. The pressure to curate an idealised online persona us hideously intensifying social comparison and anxiety. Influencer culture, viral trends and algorithmic recommendations are amplifying unrealistic standards of beauty, success and lifestyle. For teenagers navigating complex emotional transitions, this is creating an environment of constant comparison. Psychologists warn that such dynamics may end up altering how young people perceive themselves and their relationships with others.

Sleep disruption is another growing concern. Studies examining adolescents in India have found a clear association between heavy smartphone use and sleep problems, an issue that directly affects academic performance and emotional well-being. At the same time, the digital environment is not entirely negative. Social media has also enabled younger Indians to discover communities, access information and express creativity in ways that were unimaginable only a decade ago.

The challenge, therefore, lies in ensuring that the benefits do not come at the cost of psychological health.

Time for Digital Reset?

History offers a useful perspective. Transformative technologies often pass through a phase of exuberant adoption before society begins throwing in safety standards. Automobiles eventually required seatbelts and airbags. Medicines underwent tough clinical testing. Aviation developed strict engineering protocols. Technology may now be approaching a similar moment.

Thus, for the sake of India’s children and youth, the response must be thoughtful, not reactionary or knee-jerk. Schools need to equip students with digital literacy that explains how algorithms shape behaviour. Parents need to be made aware of the psychological mechanics embedded within social media platforms. Policymakers must explore frameworks that encourage safer design; through transparency requirements, stronger protections for minors and limits on features that encourage compulsive use. Technology firms themselves face a pivotal choice. They can continue defending engagement-driven platforms built around ad revenues, or they can lead a redesign that places user well-being at the centre of digital innovation.

India faces a tough question. And the California verdict will face appeals, with legal proceedings stretching and agonizing for years. But the broader message has already travelled beyond the Los Angeles courthouse. For the first time, a jury has declared that the architecture of social media itself can cause harm. In India, where crores of young people are growing up inside the digital ecosystem, the poser is no longer whether the problem exists. It is whether we will confront it now. Before an entire generation learns that the platforms shaping their lives were never designed for their well-being, but for their attention.

The writer can be reached on narayanrajeev2006@gmail.com. Views expressed are personal

The writer is a veteran journalist and communications specialist