Some time back, 14-years-old Molly Russell attempted suicide and gave up her life due to the self-harm and suicide content that she saw on the internet.
Since then, the father of Molly, Ian Russell is encouraging tech giants to stop the flow of self-harm and suicide content on their platforms.
Suicide in teenagers is, unfortunately, becoming very common these days and we have no idea how much social media is contributing towards encouraging teenagers to attempt it.
The recent event of Molly Russell is a wakeup call for all the tech companies to give this issue the kind of importance it demands. Mostly, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat are prime applications where people are spending most of their time and therefore, it puts a duty on them to address these issues.
Instagram has announced that they will be banning all kinds of cartoons, memes, and drawings promoting or encouraging suicide or self-harm. According to the BBC reports, Molly Russell was encouraged by self-harming content that she was on Instagram.
Since the death of Molly Russell, Ian Russell is encouraging social networks to ban any such content from appearing in the users feed.
Hence, Instagram’s decision might be a consequence of the recent visit of Ian Russell to the Silicon Valley to promote awareness regarding the content that teenagers are exposed to on the internet.
Ian Russell is hopeful that Instagram delivers what they have announced and maintain quality content on their platform.
Photo: Cultura/C. Ditty / Getty Images
Read next: Instagram Is Testing New Feature to Help You Sort the People You Follow
Since then, the father of Molly, Ian Russell is encouraging tech giants to stop the flow of self-harm and suicide content on their platforms.
Suicide in teenagers is, unfortunately, becoming very common these days and we have no idea how much social media is contributing towards encouraging teenagers to attempt it.
The recent event of Molly Russell is a wakeup call for all the tech companies to give this issue the kind of importance it demands. Mostly, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat are prime applications where people are spending most of their time and therefore, it puts a duty on them to address these issues.
Instagram has announced that they will be banning all kinds of cartoons, memes, and drawings promoting or encouraging suicide or self-harm. According to the BBC reports, Molly Russell was encouraged by self-harming content that she was on Instagram.
Since the death of Molly Russell, Ian Russell is encouraging social networks to ban any such content from appearing in the users feed.
Hence, Instagram’s decision might be a consequence of the recent visit of Ian Russell to the Silicon Valley to promote awareness regarding the content that teenagers are exposed to on the internet.
Ian Russell is hopeful that Instagram delivers what they have announced and maintain quality content on their platform.
Photo: Cultura/C. Ditty / Getty Images
Read next: Instagram Is Testing New Feature to Help You Sort the People You Follow
