Child Psychiatrist Testifies in Social Media Addiction Trial

The social media addiction trial continues with testimony from a child psychiatrist, but during cross-examination, defense attorneys point to family issues they say may have contributed to the plaintiff's mental health struggles. NTD's Christina Corona tells us more. Wednesday marked the fourth day on the stand for Dr. Kara Baggett, a child psychiatrist who is testifying in a social media addiction trial taking place in Los Angeles. Dr. Baggett told She says she has spent nearly 20 years studying child addiction and has treated hundreds, possibly even thousands, of young patients struggling with excessive social media use. She said some teenagers have even been hospitalized after suicide attempts due to content they saw online, with many of them being young girls. Dr. Baggett is also a neuroscience researcher and helped develop research methods to study social media addiction in young people, including brain scans and research looking at how social media may affect brain development over time. But during cross-examination, attorneys for MEDA focused heavily on the 20-year-old plaintiff, Kaylee's personal history and medical records. They pointed to family conflict, past trauma, and records describing depression, anxiety, and self-harm. Defense attorneys also pointed to Kaylee's earlier testimony about difficult experiences at home. She described alleged neglect by her mother and said her father would fat-shame her and make sexualized comments about other women in front of her. Attorneys also brought up the plaintiff's sister's suicide attempt, suggesting those experiences may have played a role in Kaylee's mental health struggles. Kaylee's mother is expected to testify later this week. Christina Corona, NTD News.