Silicon Valley exploits a teen loneliness epidemic. California must act | Opinion
With AI now joining the melange of platforms teenagers can access, California has spearheaded the effort to pass laws protecting children from the reach of Big Tech.
Senate Bill 243, introduced by Sens. Steve Padilla, D-San Diego, and Josh Becker, D-San Mateo, will require AI chatbots to inform users that their content is artificially generated. It’s an attempt to limit how addictive AI chatbots can become.
The legislation was proposed amid a pending lawsuit against Character.AI, filed by Floridian mother Megan Garcia, whose 14-year-old son, Sewell, committed suicide in 2024 after engaging in a 10-month “relationship” with the chatbot.
Sewell had become obsessed with a Character.AI chatbot that he named Daenerys Targaryen, after a popular “Game of Thrones” character. He would text the bot throughout the day and spent many hours alone talking to it. In February of 2024, Sewell shot himself in the bathroom after he told the chatbot he would soon “come home” to it.
“Please come home to me as soon as possible, my love,” the chatbot had told him.
This bill is just one in a series seeking to regulate social media, such as SB 976, signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September of 2024, which prohibits social media platforms from knowingly curating an addictive feed marketed to minors without parental consent.
SB 243 is facing pushback from Republican state lawmakers and technology companies that allege the bill will violate their First Amendment rights. They also cite fears that the law will hold companies liable for glitches and defects. Yet, so far, the bill is surviving the long approval process in Sacramento. It recently passed the Senate and has cleared two hearings in the Assembly.
What these tech companies are really concerned about, however, is being hampered by lawsuits that will stunt their growth. But at what point does a company’s ability to grow and turn a profit become more important than the health and well-being of children?
A teenage loneliness epidemic
There’s more than enough evidence that tech companies like Facebook have been taking advantage of young users. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was questioned before the Senate for enabling online content on Instagram, targeting the self-esteem and body image of young girls.
Many studies have documented the negative effects of teenagers’ mental health: A Pew Research Center survey found 48% of teens believe social media harms people their age, and parents of teenagers 13 to 17 are worried about the effects of social media on their mental health.
Social media has helped spur a teenage loneliness epidemic that is only getting worse, particularly as there are still few checks on tech companies. A New York Times article documented how texting and endless “doomscrolling” on TikTok and other platforms have increasingly isolated teenagers.
Now AI has entered the frame to fill that lonely void. Companies like Character.AI are different from ChatGPT because they specialize in AI technologies that imitate human emotions. But manufacturing more technology to solve a crisis created by technology is not the answer, and it can lead to tragic consequences.
Sewell’s case highlighted how young people need community and face-to-face social interaction, now more than ever. What the teenage loneliness epidemic, exhibited in cases like this, really signals is how we continue to strive towards human connection, even in the cold face of a phone screen.
Rather than letting tech companies continue to exploit children for profit, we must continue drafting and approving legislation like SB 243 to protect the most vulnerable in our society.
Although technology creates the illusion of fast-tracking us to the future, it’s important that we are cognizant of the damage such propulsion can do — and whether it’s worth the cost.
This story was originally published July 23, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Silicon Valley exploits a teen loneliness epidemic. California must act | Opinion."
