Social Media Safety, Suicide Risk and learning from Molly
19th January 2023
At 14-years of age Molly Russell died following an act of self-harm in November 2017. The conclusion of the inquest into Molly’s death has brought internet safety and the potential exposure to harmful content online sharply into focus; in particular, the need legislative change has become inescapable.
Photo by Daria Nepriakhina 🇺🇦 on Unsplash
Molly appeared a normal healthy girl who was flourishing at school, having settled well into secondary school life and displayed an enthusiastic interest in the Performing Arts. Like many adolescents, she quietly struggled with depression and frequently used social media and online platforms. On these sites she was able to view and access adult content, which senior coroner Andrew Walker later reported “should not have been available for a 14-year-old child to see”. She viewed images, videos, and text on the topic of self-harm and suicide which were negative and depressing in nature, some of which “romanticised acts of self-harm” and also encouraged keeping feelings about depression secret. In the six months before her death, Molly had shared, liked, or saved more than 2,000 posts related to suicide, self-harm and depression on Instagram.
It was deemed in the coroner’s report that the material viewed by Molly who was already experiencing a depressive illness and was vulnerable due to her age, had a negative affect on her mental health and “contributed to her death in a more than minimal way”. Unfortunately, Molly Russell’s case is not unique; one third of children aged 8-15 have seen worrying or upsetting content online in the past 12 months. And although 93% of 8–17-year-olds would tell someone if they saw something worrying online, only 8% would tell the website/app that they had encountered harmful content, according to a 2022 report by Ofcom.
Molly Russell’s case is believed to be the first-time social media companies have had to take part in the legal proceedings as their services were linked to the death of a child; despite the inquest aiming to establish the reason Molly died, the two-week hearing effectively put Instagram and Pinterest on trial. In his ‘prevention of future deaths’ report, 2022, the Coroner, Mr Andrew Walker, recommended that the Government and social media companies should review the platform provisions for children. This was sent to several social media platforms including Meta, Snapchat and Pinterest urging them to take action. He asked them to consider altering their algorithms, introducing age verifications, separate platforms for children and adults and parental/guardian/carer control to access material being viewed by children. Andrew Walker also stated that, whilst Government regulation was indicated, he saw no reason why platforms themselves would not also consider self-regulation in light of the findings.
This report came after the Online Safety Bill, which was first introduced to the House of Commons in March 2022. It sets out new laws to protect children and adults online, making social media companies legally responsible for their users’ safety. Molly’s death has highlighted the importance and need for this bill to be passed; however, the bill has encountered delays from the prime minister amid scrutiny of the plans to regulate speech online. As the bill aims to regulate lawful but harmful speech, many believe that this will allow owners and operators of social media platforms power over public discourse, affecting rights to free speech and defying the nature of a democratic society. While we wait for this bill to potentially create change, social media companies have attempted to make their platforms safer for their users.
Both Instagram and Pinterest said their platforms have changed in the past 6 years since the inquest to protect their users from harmful content, yet they have approached these matters in different ways. Meta, the parent company of Instagram said they want to be a place where young people struggling with depression can seek support, while Pinterest stated that some subjects don’t belong on the platform, including self-harm. Both platforms hide search terms and show messages of support and advisories that direct users to experts who can help if they are struggling. Instagram has added a ‘sensitive content control’ setting which allows users to choose how much or how little sensitive/harmful content they can see. They have also created a ‘supervision’ function which allows a parent, guardian, or carer to oversee some actions on a teenager’s (aged 13-17 years) account.
The regulation of harmful content on social media will also benefit vulnerable groups of individuals who, due to personal circumstances or injury, may be at greater risk, particularly when the appropriate levels of care/support are not available or difficult to provide. Many people who have a traumatic brain injury experience disinhibition and impulsive behaviour, increasing the risk of personal exploitation, self-harm or engaging in criminal acts online. To appropriately support and limit the risks of social media for vulnerable clients, capacity assessments establish a person’s ability to use the internet and social media, considering their understanding and awareness of relevant online risks and associated behaviours and decisions.
When Justice Cobb outlined the ‘relevant information’ people should be able to understand, he acknowledged that the “determination that a person lacks capacity to access and use the internet imposes a significant restriction upon his or her freedom”. Therefore, it is critical that capacity assessments for social media and internet use include an adequate understanding of the person’s needs, efforts to support them to use the technology safely wherever possible and should be revisited regularly.
The inquest of Molly Russell reaffirmed the complex relationship between social media and our mental health/wellbeing and how exposure to certain content can confer significant risks. While social media companies attempt to make their platforms safer for their users, it is important that each person is empowered to weigh up the benefits and risks of interacting online. To enable this, it is likely that more education is essential to learn about the use of different social media platforms, risks/benefits and setting options to help users make informed decisions regarding potentially harmful content. Additional guidance and support is likely to be necessary for younger and more vulnerable groups.
There is also a need for greater understanding of the warning signs of depressive or suicidal behaviour and knowing how to help others. Often people don’t know what to say or how best to support someone they care about who is struggling or feeling depressed. If you would like to increase your own understanding on this topic, please see our free course (link below) which teaches about suicide risk, prevention, and management.
Written by Caitlin Thompson, Assistant Psychologist
Suicide Risk, Prevention and Management – free training now available from Psychology Chartered – https://curiate.theskillsnetwork.com/courses/srmapt
Internet and Social-Media Use following TBI training – coming soon!
More resources:
Ofcom Online Nation 2022 Report: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/data/assets/pdf_file/0023/238361/online-nation-2022-report.pdf
Click here for more information about Instagram’s sensitive content control: https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/updates-to-the-sensitive-content-control
The Online Safety Bill – https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3137