Meta study cited in LA trial found parental controls had little effect on teens' social media overuse
Feb 22nd 2026
An internal Meta study called Project MYST, cited at a Los Angeles Superior Court trial, found parental supervision and app limits were not linked to teens' reported ability to moderate social media, and it found teens with stressful life events were more likely to struggle with overuse.
- Project MYST surveyed about 1,000 teens and their parents and concluded parental and household factors had little association with teens' reported attentiveness to social media use.
- Teens who reported more adverse life experiences also reported lower ability to moderate their social media use.
- The study was presented during a trial where plaintiff "Kaley" sues Meta, YouTube, ByteDance, and Snap for alleged harms including anxiety, depression, and self-harm, with TikTok and Snap settling before trial.
- Meta lawyers said the study focused on teens' perceptions of overuse rather than clinical addiction and emphasized parental and life factors as drivers of harm.
- Instagram head Adam Mosseri testified he was not familiar with Project MYST despite documents indicating he approved the study moving forward.
- Testimony said the study was not published publicly and no warnings were issued to users or parents, and Meta replied that it builds digital monitoring tools and that the analysis did not show an effect of parental oversight.