Meta recently agreed to pay $17.1 billion to settle a lawsuit that alleged it deliberately designed features on Facebook and Instagram that hook and harm children. The settlement highlights growing concern about the role of technology in adolescent well‑being, prompting a larger question: How serious is the youth mental health crisis, and what will it take to address it? North Carolina, one of the plaintiffs in the action, is guaranteed at least $451 million from the settlement, with the potential to receive $645 million if legislators extend similar protections for youth to other social media platforms. That additional funding matters because many young people have moved beyond Meta to other platforms, such as YouTube and TikTok that also have great influence over youth culture.
To understand the importance of these funds, we must examine two crises that collided in North Carolina: the implementation of Raise the Age and the COVID-19 pandemic.
When North Carolina implemented the Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Act, commonly known as Raise the Age, its objective was not only to change the age of juvenile jurisdiction, but also to be part of a broader strategy providing children with structure, accountability, mentorship, and positive outlets and activities, by allowing the juvenile justice court to retain jurisdiction of 16 and 17-year-old non-violent offenders.
To prepare for the influx of 16 and 17-year-olds into the juvenile system, the state’s Juvenile Justice division requested more than $110 million for youth-focused services. Lawmakers ultimately allocated just $55.6 million, leaving a $54 million funding gap, and still, too few resources.
Then came COVID-19.
The pandemic fractured the systems surrounding our children. Young people of all ages experienced isolation, and for many, it was at precisely the developmental stage when connection, structure, and social interaction mattered most. Meanwhile, community programs providing mentorship, recreation, and support were reduced, dismantled, or unable to operate.
As families and communities turned inward, dependence on cellphones, computers, and social media exploded. School, work, and general communication increasingly moved online. Many children sought connection through screens and algorithms, thus, the new normal.
Social media companies were positioned to exploit those conditions. Their business models were designed to capture attention, making vulnerable young people highly valuable users. Their still-developing brains are particularly susceptible to instant rewards, developing addictive habits (like continual scrolling instead of sleeping), and less able to cope with negative reactions. Predictably, concerns about anxiety, depression, and unhealthy social relationships grew.
Juvenile delinquency metrics also increased. Between 2022 and 2024, North Carolina recorded an 18% increase in overall juvenile delinquency complaints, while violent offenses rose from 978 incidents in 2019 to more than 2,300 in 2022. It was easy for some critics to blame Raise the Age; however, there are likely numerous factors at play.
Even as delinquency rates fluctuate, challenges still abound, such as the emergence of artificial intelligence. Young people can increasingly turn to chatbots and other platforms for advice, companionship, and emotional support. For some, artificial intelligence may become another substitute for human connection.
Technology is not going away. The question is whether North Carolina will use this historic settlement to establish meaningful guardrails while rebuilding the human infrastructure our children desperately need.
Our youth is our greatest investment. If the pandemic taught us anything, it is that technology can connect us—but it cannot replace community, mentorship, accountability, and genuine human relationships. Now is the time to fund those systems and bring our children out from behind their screens to experience the world.
