District leaders and educators gathered at La Cumbre Junior High School to discuss the Santa Barbara Unified School District’s decision to join a national lawsuit against Meta, YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat, alleging the social media platforms are contributing to mental health challenges among children and teenagers.
Santa Barbara Unified Superintendent Hilda Maldonado said the district is seeing the effects of social media use in classrooms and hearing concerns from parents.
“The algorithms are built to have students stay connected and addicted,” Maldonado said. “What we see are the effects of that. We see it in our classrooms. We have heard from our parents.”
La Cumbre Junior High Principal Bradley Brock said he believes the impact of social media on students’ mental health has worsened in recent years.
“Ten years ago, for suicidal ideation among students, we had maybe two to three referrals per year,” Brock said. “Last year, and this is no exaggeration, we had about two to three per week.”
The district said initiatives under its “Tech With Intent” program, including restrictions on cell phone use, have been effective in classrooms. But educators said students continue to feel the effects of social media outside of school.
Amanda Lawrence, a RISE clinical supervisor with Santa Barbara Unified, said educators are seeing issues including cyberbullying, body dissatisfaction, low self-esteem, and poor sleep habits.
“Cyberbullying, we see a lot of body dissatisfaction, we see low self-esteem and poor sleep habits because kiddos are up on their phones at night when they should be sleeping,” Lawrence said.
As part of the lawsuit, the district is seeking enhanced parental controls, compliance with children’s online privacy laws and better coordination with schools during emergencies.
The district has also launched wellness spaces at some schools to provide students with additional mental health support.
At Santa Barbara High School, Wellness Center Coordinator Natalia Valladares said students can use the space for brief check-ins and activities designed to help them manage stress and other challenges.
“Visits are usually 15 to 20 minutes,” Valladares said. “Students can do a check-in with myself. They can utilize the space with different activities we have.”
District officials said they are focused on supporting students while also seeking changes from social media companies.
KSBY reached out to the social media companies named in the lawsuit for comment but has not heard back.
