In what could be a landmark product liability case, Meta and Google (the parent companies for Instagram and YouTube) are accused of designing platforms that are addictive, especially for children. The plaintiff, identified as “KGM,” began using the social media programs when she was 10 years old. She alleges that her usage escalated to the point of addiction, contributing to her depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts.

I don’t understand the law, nor do I have a prediction on how this case will ultimately be resolved. But I do have an observation about companies accused of indoctrinating customers to crave their products: of course they do.

Every company wants its customers to come back. Companies want engagement, loyalty, and – dare we say – even addiction.

Of course, some products and services are more addiction-worthy than others. I’m just guessing here, but it’s probably better to be addicted to lean protein than to donuts. Should we ban advertising for sugary desserts? Or maybe just ban dessert advertising aimed at impressionable children?

But aren’t many breakfast cereals simply the nutritional equivalent of a donut? A serving of Apple Jacks breakfast cereal contains more added sugar than a Krispy Kreme glazed donut.

Social media companies have learned what breakfast cereal companies, casinos and countless others knew long ago: you can engineer addiction through a loop of trigger, action, and variable reward. Our device sends a barrage of social media notifications, eventually triggering a social media post of our own – the action. The number of “likes” we receive is the variable reward. We constantly return to our post to see how many interactions it received, spending more time on the platform, and engaging more – because we never know what the next hit of validation will bring. Casinos do it with flashing lights and sounds. State lotteries do it with ads featuring jackpot winners. Cracker Jack does it with a prize in every box.

Psychologist B.F. Skinner studied reinforcement patterns for decades, finding that behaviors reinforced with variable rewards are among the most powerful – and potentially the most self-destructive. In controlled experiments, pigeons will eat themselves to death when presented with a variable reward feeding system. In a predictable or fixed reward system, they only eat what they need.

A different 2019 study that found a link between diminished brain development and 2 hours of daily “screen time” – among 3-to-5 year olds. Notably, the median age at which study participants were given unattended access to an interactive screen was just 18 months.

That study isn’t really about Instagram or iPads. It is about parenting. And there is the conflict. How quickly do we blame a system for failed individual behavior?

David Moon is president of Moon Capital Management. A version of this piece originally appeared in the USA TODAY NETWORK.