Internal emails show Meta’s focus on teen usage as app engagement climbed

Instagram

• Instagram usage increased from 40 to 46 minutes (2023-2026)
• Court case questions Instagram's impact on youth mental health
• Jury to decide if Instagram contributed to plaintiff's struggles

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Instagram’s daily usage climbed steadily in recent years, reaching 46 minutes per day in 2026 from 40 minutes in 2023, according to internal documentation revealed during CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony in a Los Angeles court.

The figures emerged in K.G.M. v. Platforms et al., a case underway in L.A. County Superior Court, where a jury will decide whether social media companies can be held liable for youth mental health issues allegedly caused by their platforms or addictive design features. While Snap and TikTok settled before trial, executives from Meta and YouTube are testifying.

The 19-year-old plaintiff, identified by the initials K.G.M., argues that early exposure to social media harmed her mental health, leading to addiction, depression and suicidal thoughts. Meta denies responsibility, saying the plaintiff faced significant personal challenges before using social media.

A central issue in the case is whether Meta prioritised increasing time spent on Instagram despite knowing minors were active on the platform. During testimony, Zuckerberg was questioned about his 2024 statement to Congress that children under 13 were not allowed on Instagram, even though internal documents from 2015 estimated around 4 million under-13 users — roughly 30% of all 10- to 12-year-olds in the US at the time.

Zuckerberg said he had accurately described company policy to Congress and maintained that Instagram removed underage users when identified. He also drew a distinction between tracking “milestones” related to usage growth and setting explicit internal “goals” tied to time spent.

However, plaintiff attorneys cited internal emails suggesting a strong focus on teens and tweens. One former product manager wrote that the company’s “overall company goal is total teen time spent,” and another document indicated that teens were a top corporate priority in early 2017. A 2018 market analysis described tweens as the highest-retention age group in the US. An email from adviser Nick Clegg also characterised Instagram’s age requirements as “unenforceable.”

Lawyers for the plaintiff argued that Instagram did not meaningfully address underage usage until 2021, when it began requiring users to input birthdays. Meta countered that it had started requesting age information from new users in 2019.

Although Instagram has since introduced enhanced teen protections and parental controls, internal documents referenced in court suggest the company still aims to become the largest teen destination by monthly active users in the US and globally.

The jury must now determine whether Instagram was a substantial factor in the plaintiff’s mental health struggles — a decision that could have significant implications for the broader social media industry.