14-year-old Mollly was drawn into a maelstrom of self-harm images and videos that would exacerbate her depression until she committed suicide at age 14.
Sucked into a whirlwind of “images, videos”. and lyrics pertaining to self-harm, suicide, or other negative or depressing nature…some of which were automatically selected and delivered by the algorithms without Molly looking for them,” a coroner recorded for the first time among the causes of death in a victim’s account the negative impact of online content and in particular from social networks.
A historic turning point coming from the UK but also dramatic considering the victim, Molly Russell, she was only 14 years old when in November 2017 she committed suicide. A turning point after years of fighting for the teenager’s family, who only discovered after his death that Molly had interacted with content on Instagram and Pinterest that spoke of self-harm and suicide.
Molly’s death occurred for “an act of self-harm while she was suffering from depression and the negative effects of online content,” the coroner wrote. Andrew Walker in the conclusions of the report that closed the case last Friday.
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“Molly looked like a normal, healthy girl that she did well in school, settled well into secondary school life and showed an enthusiastic interest in the performing arts. However, Molly had become depressed, a common condition affecting boys of this age. A situation that then worsened. Molly signed up to numerous online sites that allowed access to adult content when it shouldn’t have been visible to a 14-year-old,” the coroner wrote, adding, “The platform worked to use them could algorithms which may lead to times of picture bites, Video clips and texts on self-harm and suicide, some of which were selected and made available without Molly’s request”.
“Some of this content romanticized young people’s self-harm. Other content attempted to isolate the victim and prevent conversations with those who could help,” the expert noted, concluding, “It is likely that the material that Molly, who already has a depressive disorder and is vulnerable due to her age, has seen negatively impacted his mental health and contributed to his death more than minimally.”
“It’s time to protect our youth innocent rather than allowing social platforms to prioritize their profits by monetizing children’s needs,” he said Molly’s father, Ian Russell, who has long struggled to acknowledge the responsibility of social media.
“The past fortnight has been particularly painful for our family; we miss Molly more than usual but hopefully the attention this case has received will help prevent similar deaths being encouraged by the disturbing content that is still available on platforms today from social media,” he concluded.