Social media addiction is indeed an addiction. A recent Los Angeles Superior Court jury said so, finding Meta and YouTube created products as addictive as cigarettes or digital casinos. It awarded the plaintiff<\/a>, who had claimed anxiety and depression, $6 million. The jury\u2019s verdict validates a new legal theory: social media sites and apps can cause personal injury. The defendants will appeal, while a number of other cases, alleging the same or similar theories, are set for trial.\u00a0<\/p>\n So, given that there has been, at least at the trial court level here in California, a finding that social media addiction is alive and well in the land, it\u2019s not surprising that there is a support group for social media addicts. Media Addicts Anonymous brands itself as the \u201c12 step recovery from the compulsive use of all media.\u201d Its purpose is \u201cto support all forms of media sobriety, including abstinence from electronic media, films, radio, newspapers, magazines, books, and music.\u201d I am not suggesting abstinence from all forms of media, but I am suggesting that it wouldn\u2019t hurt to refrain from social media usage to the extent that it has negatively impacted careers of lawyers and judges.<\/p>\n A variety of missteps have landed both attorneys and judges in disciplinary penalty boxes. The question is always \u201cwhat were they thinking?\u201d The answer is obvious.<\/p>\n Rather than calling out individuals, a little refresher on what kind of topics on social media can land them in hot water:<\/p>\n How about violating ethical rules of client confidentiality? What about nasty, rude, and unbecoming conduct in social media posts? What about making prejudicial comments? Asking attorneys who appear before you to become Facebook friends? What about posting opinions\u00a0 about cases in progress? What about commenting about the conduct of lawyers, the judge, jury members, and witnesses? What about, despite pointed instructions to the contrary, jurors using social media to do their own investigations? What about taking to social media to criticize taken\/not taken by trial counsel? The list goes on and on.<\/p>\n Where are their brains when lawyers and judges post on social media without thinking it through? Trying to explain, justify, or otherwise educate on social media is a time waster, creating enormous and unneeded blowback. How about making every lawyer who wants to save his professional license and every judge who doesn\u2019t want to get booted off the court to enroll and finish a social media addiction 12-step program?\u00a0<\/p>\n The Media Addicts Anonymous website has some diagnostic tools to determine whether you are at risk or already addicted. Signs of media addiction include anxiety, isolation, procrastination, inability to prioritize, boredom with routine tasks, and chronic lateness. There are other signs. Many of these aren\u2019t necessarily media addiction but can be considered part of the life of a lawyer or bench officer. We\u2019ve all experienced some or all of these during various times in our careers. But when any of these factors become excessive, then it may be beyond just a habit.<\/p>\n Remember the public service announcement about drugs and your brain on drugs<\/a>? There\u2019s evidence that a media addiction is similar to alcohol or drug dependency and changes the brain\u2019s prefrontal cortex<\/a>, which is responsible for decision-making and social behavior. <\/p>\n Back in 1972, before smartphones and even cellphones, there was a hilarious, almost prescient scene in the Woody Allen movie, \u201cPlay It Again, Sam.\u201d<\/p>\n Dick<\/a>: [On the phone<\/em>] \u201cLet me tell you where you can reach me, George. I\u2019ll be at 362-9296 for a while; then I\u2019ll be at 648-0024 for about 15 minutes; then I\u2019ll be at 752-0420; and then I\u2019ll be home, at 621-4598. Yeah, right George, bye-bye.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cLinda: There\u2019s a phone booth on the corner. You want me to run downstairs and get the number? You\u2019ll be passing it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n We all know, unless we\u2019ve been oblivious over the past few decades, that alcohol and drug addictions have infected our profession. Is it time to add social media addiction to the list of\u00a0behavioral issues we should be concerned about? Will AI addiction be next?<\/p>\n Jill Switzer has been an active member of the State Bar of California for over 40 years. She remembers practicing law in a kinder, gentler time. She\u2019s had a diverse legal career, including stints as a deputy district attorney, a solo practice, and several senior in-house gigs. She now mediates full-time, which gives her the opportunity to see dinosaurs, millennials, and those in-between interact \u2014 it\u2019s not always civil. You can reach her by email at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>oldladylawyer@gmail.com<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The post Sex, Drugs, And Social Media Addiction<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n We are all addicts of one kind or another. Whether it\u2019s addiction to work, alcohol, drugs, sex, or something or someone, we don\u2019t seem to be able to relinquish whatever or whoever it is that has us in its grasp. Social media has already done that. Stories are replete with lawyers and judges who don\u2019t STFU on social media and get themselves into a pack of trouble with disciplinary agencies.<\/p>\n Did you know that there is a 12-step program for media addicts<\/a>? This is in addition to Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous, Gamblers Anonymous, and other programs where the goal is to wean users off bad habits. Media Addicts Anonymous is a 12-step program for those who are addicted to technology and social media. (I am not making this up.)\u00a0 <\/p>\n Social media addiction is indeed an addiction. A recent Los Angeles Superior Court jury said so, finding Meta and YouTube created products as addictive as cigarettes or digital casinos. It awarded the plaintiff<\/a>, who had claimed anxiety and depression, $6 million. The jury\u2019s verdict validates a new legal theory: social media sites and apps can cause personal injury. The defendants will appeal, while a number of other cases, alleging the same or similar theories, are set for trial.\u00a0<\/p>\n So, given that there has been, at least at the trial court level here in California, a finding that social media addiction is alive and well in the land, it\u2019s not surprising that there is a support group for social media addicts. Media Addicts Anonymous brands itself as the \u201c12 step recovery from the compulsive use of all media.\u201d Its purpose is \u201cto support all forms of media sobriety, including abstinence from electronic media, films, radio, newspapers, magazines, books, and music.\u201d I am not suggesting abstinence from all forms of media, but I am suggesting that it wouldn\u2019t hurt to refrain from social media usage to the extent that it has negatively impacted careers of lawyers and judges.<\/p>\n A variety of missteps have landed both attorneys and judges in disciplinary penalty boxes. The question is always \u201cwhat were they thinking?\u201d The answer is obvious.<\/p>\n Rather than calling out individuals, a little refresher on what kind of topics on social media can land them in hot water:<\/p>\n How about violating ethical rules of client confidentiality? What about nasty, rude, and unbecoming conduct in social media posts? What about making prejudicial comments? Asking attorneys who appear before you to become Facebook friends? What about posting opinions\u00a0 about cases in progress? What about commenting about the conduct of lawyers, the judge, jury members, and witnesses? What about, despite pointed instructions to the contrary, jurors using social media to do their own investigations? What about taking to social media to criticize taken\/not taken by trial counsel? The list goes on and on.<\/p>\n Where are their brains when lawyers and judges post on social media without thinking it through? Trying to explain, justify, or otherwise educate on social media is a time waster, creating enormous and unneeded blowback. How about making every lawyer who wants to save his professional license and every judge who doesn\u2019t want to get booted off the court to enroll and finish a social media addiction 12-step program?\u00a0<\/p>\n The Media Addicts Anonymous website has some diagnostic tools to determine whether you are at risk or already addicted. Signs of media addiction include anxiety, isolation, procrastination, inability to prioritize, boredom with routine tasks, and chronic lateness. There are other signs. Many of these aren\u2019t necessarily media addiction but can be considered part of the life of a lawyer or bench officer. We\u2019ve all experienced some or all of these during various times in our careers. But when any of these factors become excessive, then it may be beyond just a habit.<\/p>\n Remember the public service announcement about drugs and your brain on drugs<\/a>? There\u2019s evidence that a media addiction is similar to alcohol or drug dependency and changes the brain\u2019s prefrontal cortex<\/a>, which is responsible for decision-making and social behavior. <\/p>\n Back in 1972, before smartphones and even cellphones, there was a hilarious, almost prescient scene in the Woody Allen movie, \u201cPlay It Again, Sam.\u201d<\/p>\n Dick<\/a>: [On the phone<\/em>] \u201cLet me tell you where you can reach me, George. I\u2019ll be at 362-9296 for a while; then I\u2019ll be at 648-0024 for about 15 minutes; then I\u2019ll be at 752-0420; and then I\u2019ll be home, at 621-4598. Yeah, right George, bye-bye.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cLinda: There\u2019s a phone booth on the corner. You want me to run downstairs and get the number? You\u2019ll be passing it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n We all know, unless we\u2019ve been oblivious over the past few decades, that alcohol and drug addictions have infected our profession. Is it time to add social media addiction to the list of\u00a0behavioral issues we should be concerned about? Will AI addiction be next?<\/p>\n Jill Switzer has been an active member of the State Bar of California for over 40 years. She remembers practicing law in a kinder, gentler time. She\u2019s had a diverse legal career, including stints as a deputy district attorney, a solo practice, and several senior in-house gigs. She now mediates full-time, which gives her the opportunity to see dinosaurs, millennials, and those in-between interact \u2014 it\u2019s not always civil. You can reach her by email at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>[email\u00a0protected]<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We are all addicts of one kind or another. Whether it\u2019s addiction to work, alcohol, drugs, sex, or something or someone, we don\u2019t seem to be able to relinquish whatever or whoever it is that has us in its grasp. Social media has already done that. Stories are replete with lawyers and judges who don\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":149413,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-149412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-1415700539-VOOcqy.jpg?fit=724%2C483&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149412\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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