In the United States, a mother decided to file a complaint against the publisher of Instagram, Meta, and Snapchat after the suicide of her daughter in July 2021. Aged only 11, the pre-teen suffered from an addiction to social networks .
–
Cyberbullying, addiction, exposure to shocking and violent content, the list goes on. Social networks can be harmful and dangerous for younger users. For example, Instagram is harmful to the well-being and body image of teenage girls while facilitating access to drugs for its young users. The people of under 13 years old are not allowed to create an account on networks like Instagram and Snapchat, but that does not prevent them from doing so.
In Connecticut in the United States, an 11-year-old girl committed suicide in July 2021. She suffered from an addiction to social networks and more particularly to Instagram and Snapchat. She had been followed by a therapist for more than two years to help her through this difficult period, but this support was not enough.
Read also> TikTok challenge: death of a 10-year-old girl, her mother warns of the danger of the Blackout Challenge
In addition to her addiction to Snapchat and Instagram, the girl suffered sexual harassment
The mother therefore decided to file a complaint against Instagram, finally its publisher Meta formerly known as Facebook, and Snapchat. According to her, her daughter struggled for more than two years with an extreme addiction to Snapchat and Instagram “. Uncontrollable, this addiction pushed the mother to confiscate all of their connected devices : smartphone, computer and tablet. The girl then ran away from home to continue using social platforms.
In the months leading up to her suicide, the pre-teen suffered from a severe sleep deprivation which was caused and aggravated by his addiction to Instagram and Snapchat and their constant stream of 24 hour notifications and alerts “. In addition to her addiction, the 11-year-old sent, under pressure from adult male users, sexually explicit images on Snapchat. These images were later obtained by his classmates. As her mother explained, it has ” increased the ridicule and embarrassment she experienced at school “. As a result, his absenteeism rate soared.
The mother also specified that her daughter was hospitalized for emergency psychiatric care, eating disorders and self-harm. She finally committed suicide in July 2021. Her extreme addiction to social networks was greatly aggravated by the harassment suffered. According to legal advocacy group Social Media Victims Law Center (SMVLC), social media is deliberately designed to be addictive among their users. Ironically, Instagram itself encourages teens to take a break from addiction.
Source : The Washington Post
–
