Social Media Is Changing Children’s Brains, Expert Testifies in Trial

In a historic tech trial, an expert said social media addiction has the same effect on the brain as substance disorders.

Supporters of "K.G.M." pose with signs outside the Los Angeles Superior Court during the social media trial over whether platforms were deliberately designed to be addictive to children, Los Angeles, February 25, 2026. The trial before Judge Carolyn Kuhl focuses on allegations that a 20-year-old woman identified by the initials K.G.M. suffered severe mental harm because she became addicted to social media as a child. Photo by Frederic J. Brown / AFP via Getty Images

LOS ANGELES—Over the course of four days on the witness stand, Dr. Kara Bagot, a psychiatrist specializing in adolescent addiction, spoke about the addictive effects of social media while testifying in a high-stakes civil trial in the Los Angeles Superior Court.

The plaintiff in the case is “Kaley G.M.,” or “K.G.M.,” as she is identified in court documents, a 20-year-old California woman who says her social media addiction has left her with a host of psychological harms. Bagot gave her testimony from Feb. 27 to March 4.