Can't Look Away: The Case Against Social Media

[lostincalifornia]

The film, which is streaming today on Jolt, is about a generation of children who have become so addicted to social media they quite literally can’t look away from their screens. It follows a small and scrappy group of attorneys fighting to hold social media companies accountable for causing devastating harm to kids. They represent cases where teens have killed themselves after being fed suicidal methods by algorithms or subjected to ruthless blackmail by international gangs of cyber-sextortionists or—like Neville’s son—sold deadly counterfeit pills by drug dealers who market to them online and deliver through bedroom windows.

For the past three years, I’ve been traveling the country investigating the dangers of the digital world for Bloomberg Businessweek. I’ve interviewed hundreds of people—from the trust and safety professionals who work inside these companies to teachers, police, prosecutors, lawmakers and experts. I’ve met families who’ve lost children in Arkansas, California, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, New York and Wisconsin. I’ve read too many suicide notes on smartphones.

Can’t Look Away is based on that body of work. The documentary takes viewers inside the high-stakes battle for corporate accountability—and while parts of the film can be difficult to watch, it chronicles one of the most essential issues of our time. “We are going through a digital crisis for our kids,” says Laura Ordoñez, the head of digital content at Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that advocates for kids’ digital well-being. “It’s a real public health crisis.”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2025-04-04/-can-t-look-away-documentary-film-explores-social-media-harm-to-teens

Trailer:

[SheilaAnn]

1. I am so thankful my kid are grown and raising teens is over in this day and age. My kids would hate me and of course,

I wouldn't care.