I Was 11 When Instagram Took Over My Life

Taylor Little was 11 years old when they lied about their age to sign up for Instagram. Now, 13 years later, they’re one of thousands of people suing the company, accusing Instagram of purposely addicting them as a child and driving them to years of mental health struggles. 

Taylor takes Brian inside their dark and twisted experience with the app. They say it all started with a suggestion Instagram sent them to visit an account they didn’t follow, which they developed a morbid fascination with.

Who bears responsibility for what happened to Taylor? Is it Instagram? The users who posted the content that consumed them? Their mom? 

Today’s show deals with issues of self harm and suicide. If you or someone you know are struggling with these issues, call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988. 

Question Everything is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory. And don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter.

Guests: 

• Taylor Little, plaintiff in social media trial

Please support the organizations that support this show:

• Loyola Marymount University
• If you’re interested in Fabric by Gerber Life go to https://meetfabric.com/QUESTION and apply today, risk-free.
• Get 15% off OneSkin with the code QUESTION at https://www.oneskin.co/QUESTION  #oneskinpod
• Ground News is a platform that makes it easy to compare news sources, read between the lines of media bias and break free from algorithms. Go to groundnews.com/QUESTION to get 40% off the unlimited Vantage plan.