Faith Ridler
Daily Mail
Thirty families have blamed social media for provoking their children's suicides as it emerged Pinterest sent tragic Molly Russell a personalized email containing images of self-harm.
Molly, 14, of Harrow, north west London, was found dead in her bedroom in November 2017 after showing 'no obvious signs' of severe mental health issues.
Her family later found she had been viewing material on social media linked to anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicide.
The teenager's father has now criticized Pinterest, alongside Instagram, for hosting 'harmful' images he said may have played a part in her death. Ian Russell said: 'The more I looked, the more there was that chill horror that I was getting a glimpse into something that had such profound effects on my lovely daughter. Pinterest has a huge amount to answer for.'
Papyrus, a charity working to prevent child suicides, said it has been contacted by 30 families who suspect social media played a part in their children's deaths, the Sunday Times reported.
Pinterest, which allows users to save images in a virtual scrapbook, hosts images of self-harm wounds, fists clasping white pills, and macabre mottos which can be viewed by children aged 13 and over.
The website, which uses algorithms to drive content, sent a personalized email to Molly containing graphic images a month after she died.
The email, which included an image of a slashed thigh, said: 'I can't tell you how many times I wish I was dead.' Her father has now asked for an independent regulator to be established in the UK to ensure distressing content is 'removed from social media and online within 24 hours'.
Mr Russell said: 'We are very keen to raise awareness of the harmful and disturbing content that is freely available to young people online. 'Not only that, but the social media companies, through their algorithms, expose young people to more and more harmful content, just from one click on one post.
'In the same way that someone who has shown an interest in a particular sport may be shown more and more posts about that sport, the same can be true of topics such as self-harm or suicide.'
Mr Russell said Molly, who went to Hatch End High School in Harrow, Middlesex, had started viewing disturbing posts on the social network without the family's knowledge.
He told the BBC: 'She seemed to be a very ordinary teenager. She was future-looking. She was enthusiastic.
Daily Mail
Thirty families have blamed social media for provoking their children's suicides as it emerged Pinterest sent tragic Molly Russell a personalized email containing images of self-harm.
Molly, 14, of Harrow, north west London, was found dead in her bedroom in November 2017 after showing 'no obvious signs' of severe mental health issues.
Her family later found she had been viewing material on social media linked to anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicide.
The teenager's father has now criticized Pinterest, alongside Instagram, for hosting 'harmful' images he said may have played a part in her death. Ian Russell said: 'The more I looked, the more there was that chill horror that I was getting a glimpse into something that had such profound effects on my lovely daughter. Pinterest has a huge amount to answer for.'
Papyrus, a charity working to prevent child suicides, said it has been contacted by 30 families who suspect social media played a part in their children's deaths, the Sunday Times reported.
Pinterest, which allows users to save images in a virtual scrapbook, hosts images of self-harm wounds, fists clasping white pills, and macabre mottos which can be viewed by children aged 13 and over.
The website, which uses algorithms to drive content, sent a personalized email to Molly containing graphic images a month after she died.
The email, which included an image of a slashed thigh, said: 'I can't tell you how many times I wish I was dead.' Her father has now asked for an independent regulator to be established in the UK to ensure distressing content is 'removed from social media and online within 24 hours'.
Mr Russell said: 'We are very keen to raise awareness of the harmful and disturbing content that is freely available to young people online. 'Not only that, but the social media companies, through their algorithms, expose young people to more and more harmful content, just from one click on one post.
'In the same way that someone who has shown an interest in a particular sport may be shown more and more posts about that sport, the same can be true of topics such as self-harm or suicide.'
Mr Russell said Molly, who went to Hatch End High School in Harrow, Middlesex, had started viewing disturbing posts on the social network without the family's knowledge.
He told the BBC: 'She seemed to be a very ordinary teenager. She was future-looking. She was enthusiastic.
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