REDMOND, OR -- A local school board believes social media has led to a massive jump in depression, anxiety and social isolation among students, and wants those companies to pay up. "The Redmond School District has joined up with other school districts to sue social media companies," says Superintendent Dr. Charan Cline, "For the amount of mental health damage that we believe social media is causing our kids over time."

Several other Oregon districts are involved in this and other lawsuits against companies like TikTok, Google, SnapChat, YouTube and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram. More than 200 districts around the country have reportedly also launched similar legal battles. The suits claim the companies take advantage of vulnerable young minds. Cline tells KBND News, "We’re having huge, huge spikes in mental health issues in kids - not just here in Redmond but around Oregon and around the nation. A lot of researchers link that to social media. Since social media and smartphones came out in 2008, the big jump in mental health issues have been huge." 

Dr. Cline says the district’s budget also suffers, "We’ve calculated over the last three years, including this one, we’ll spend about $10 million on mental health issues. Those are counselors and specialists. That’s money that can be better used for instructional purposes." But he acknowledges winning the suit is a longshot, "I don’t know that we’ll win that, as they have all the money in the world. But I do think it’s important for our community to know that our school board is taking it seriously enough that they want to try and do something about it."