Several county school districts are joining many nationwide in suing social media giants, claiming they have played a massive role in a mental health crisis among students.

The suits state that students have a co-dependency on social media and claim the increased usage of social media has led to bullying and students acting out, vandalizing property, being in crisis and seeking mental health resources, among other things.

Defendants include companies that own Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube.

A growing body of evidence points toward a direct connection between social media use and declining mental health among youth. A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report found more than half of teenage girls reported feelings of sadness or hopelessness, up from 36% a decade earlier.

Another CDC report shows that suicide rates for all people ages 10 to 24 spiked 60% between 2007 and 2018, following seven years of no increase.

The unusual legal strategy comes amid broader concerns about a mental health crisis among teens and hints at the urgency parents and educators feel to force changes in how online platforms operate at a time when legislative remedies have been slow in coming.

Struggles parents face with the unique risks posed by social media, including the potential for online platforms to lead teens down harmful rabbit holes, compound mental health issues and enable new forms of digital harassment and bullying.

The initial suit, filed by the Seattle public school district, asks for financial compensation for the district and for the courts to declare the practices of social media companies a public nuisance under Washington state law.

“There’s no question there is a problem,” Robert Hachiya, a Kansas State University education professor told Education Week, an independent news organization that has reported on issues affecting grades K-12 for nearly 40 years.

“The issue is, how can social media companies be assigned some kind of liability for this problem?” he said. “It’s not really about the money; it’s about getting them to change their practices.”

When the Mars Area School District voted to join the suit last week, superintendent Mark Gross likened it to recent litigation against vape-maker Juul Labs in which Mars and several other local districts received a financial settlement. He emphasized that like that case, there would be no cost to the district for participating in the suit.

“They’re being sponsored by private companies, so we’re just joining in,” Gross said. “So if something is won, nothing is lost.”

It’s worth a shot.

— JGG