Mothers of three children whose lives were severely disrupted due to the careless effects of social media stared down billionaire CEOs of tech companies in an emotional Senate panel hearing Wednesday.
Riley Basford and Grace McComas, both 15, were typical “dumb and dumb” kids who had been attending church and starting new jobs when things suddenly went south and they took their own lives.
Mariam Fawzi was a high school athlete before she was airlifted to a hospital due to severe anorexia after viewing pro-eating disorder content on TikTok and Facebook.
“This is not going to stop and more children will die and more children will be hurt,” said Mariam’s mother, Neveen Radwan, who traveled to DC three times to pressure lawmakers to take stronger action.
Radwan and the mothers of Riley and Grace, whose lives were shattered by online harassment and bullying, attended Wednesday’s Senate hearing, where the executives were grilled over their failure to protect children on their platforms.
“Every time a group of parents goes out, other parents join us because more children are dying,” Radwan said.
Parents have channeled their anguish into pushing for legislation to end the abuse.
Christine McComan (center), whose teenage daughter Grace took her own life in 2012 after a horrific campaign of cyberbullying, joins other mothers in showing photos of their children at Wednesday’s Senate hearing on social media. AP social media company bosses who attended the hearing received a frosty reception from parents in the audience, including audible catcalls as they entered the room. fake images
But the pace of progress on this issue – which has been described as a “crisis in America” by the panel’s chairman, Democratic Senator Dick Durbin – has been maddeningly slow.
“The longer this takes, the worse it will be,” Radwan argued. “The numbers will continue to grow because this is an ongoing problem.”
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, TikTok CEO Shou Chew, X CEO Linda Yaccarino, Snap Inc. CEO Evan Spiegel and Discord CEO Jason Citron were among the executive directors who attended the hearing.
Neveen Radwan’s daughter Mariam developed severe anorexia after seeing pro-eating disorder content on Facebook and TikTok. Courtesy of Neveen Radwan
As the executives entered the packed Senate Judiciary Committee Chamber, there was an audible whistle from the crowd, which included many parents holding photographs of their children who died or whose lives were changed, reportedly due to a lack of safety barriers. on social networks. media platforms.
Neveen’s daughter Mariam had just started high school when the pandemic hit, putting a damper on the budding athlete’s training regimen.
With limited gym options available during lockdown, Neveen said Mariam began searching social media for exercise videos to help her maintain her conditioning until school sports resumed.
However, the teen’s innocuous searches for fitness content would soon lead her down a treacherous path that nearly claimed her life.
Social media platforms use algorithms that adapt to a person’s interests, posting videos and feeding them content that will keep them hooked on the products.
Mariam was “bombarded” with video suggestions with disturbing premises like “how to stay under 500 calories a day,” Neveen said.
“She entered this black hole of eating disorder content that she never really asked for or sought out,” Neveen said. “But she became a kind of obsession.”
After a few months, Mariam began to experience heart problems. She spent the better part of a year in and out of hospitals, including being flown to a treatment center in Denver after suffering “multiple cardiac arrests” in 2021.
Rose Bronstein of Chicago wipes away tears while holding a photo of her son, Nate, who committed suicide in 2022 after being cyberbullied. fake images
Although Mariam survived what Neveen called her “horrible journey,” she will fight the temptation to relapse for the rest of her life.
“I think what a lot of these companies don’t realize is that you don’t actually have to kill someone to affect them for the rest of their lives,” Neveen notes. “These types of mental illnesses have triggers, and for her, absolutely the trigger for her was social media.”
Mary Rodee’s son Riley was your typical “dumb” teenager, possessing the kind of charm that made teachers adore him “even though he was very naughty at school.”
Mary Rodee’s son, Riley, took his own life in 2021 after being the victim of a sexual extortion plot on Facebook. Courtesy of Maria Rodee
But Riley shot himself in 2021 after being the subject of a sexual extortion scheme by a foreign Facebook catfish who posed as an attractive girl and asked him and several of his schoolmates for friend requests on the platform.
Mary said her late son was encouraged to exchange sexually explicit images with the adult, who immediately turned around and attempted to extort money from the teen.
He took his own life shortly after Mary dropped him off at her father’s house, leaving behind 11 devastated siblings and step-siblings, including his younger sister, who discovered his body.
Parents have channeled their anguish into pushing for legislation to end the abuse. Allison Bailey/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
“Four hours after saying goodbye to him, we’ll see each other in a little while, with his pretty braces, talking about how next week he’s so excited about spring break, so many plans with his friends, that he shoots himself because they scared him. death,” he said.
The teen had recently gotten a job and was determined to save enough money to buy a snowmobile in need of repair on Facebook Marketplace, the platform’s answer to Craigslist.
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However, when Riley and Mary answered honestly about their age when setting up an account, they were banned from using the marketplace, which restricts users under 18 years old.
“It’s just the irony of this whole terrible situation,” he said of the platform’s security measures, which were able to thwart a teenager’s attempt to buy a snowmobile but not prevent adult criminals from exchanging sexually explicit materials with him. .
Mary Rodee said changes need to be made to social media platforms immediately. Courtesy of Mary Rodee Mary’s son, Riley, left behind 11 siblings and step-siblings. Courtesy of Maria Rodee
Mary expressed fears that the public attention paid to teenage victims will be short-lived and that the problem will only get worse without a serious and prolonged campaign aimed at solving it.
“The American public has a very short attention span and today I’m just on the front page of these newspapers,” he said. “This has to happen right now.”
The tragedy of children having their lives destroyed due to online bullying may have received increased attention in recent years, but the phenomenon is not new.
Jaime Puerta, of Santa Clarita, California, holds a photograph of his son Daniel Joseph Puerta-Johnson, during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. AP The tragedy of children having their lives destroyed by online bullying may have received more attention in recent years. AP
Christine McComas’s 15-year-old daughter Grace took her own life on Easter Sunday 2012 after a long campaign of cyberbullying.
She described her daughter as “born happy” and said the teenager had been active in her community and church until a “drug-assisted sexual assault” when she was 14 turned her world upside down.
After the attack, the teenager was even more the victim of a despicable cyberbullying campaign, claiming that she had “snitched” on those responsible.
Christine McComas’s 15-year-old daughter Grace took her own life in 2012 after being cyberbullied.
Christine said her daughter started receiving horrible messages on social media like “snitches should have their fingers cut off one by one while they watch their families burn” and “I hope you watch this and cry yourself to sleep, and then you wake up and you kill yourself “
She said the family turned to the school, the police and finally the courts, but received no help as they watched their daughter break down.
“She was in crisis. We watched her, she had anxiety, she had depression. She finds it difficult to eat and sleep. “It was like watching a car accident in slow motion,” Christine said.
Some of the messages addressed to Grace McComas on Twitter before she committed suicide.
“We got help for her mental health, we surrounded her with all the love we could, but she was afraid. “We live on three acres and she wouldn’t even walk to the mailbox.”
Less than a year after his death, the state of Maryland passed Grace’s Law, which criminalizes the use of Internet communications to harass or intimidate a minor.
Despite the progress made in her home state, Christine said continued public pressure on elected officials and social media bosses is the only path to lasting change at the national level.
“This is not going to stop and more children will die and more children will be injured,” said Mariam’s mother, Neveen Radwan. AP/Pablo Martínez Monsiváis
“As a father who lost my son so long ago, it makes me very angry that nothing has been done in all these years. And every time they decide not to do it, whether they do it or don’t take action, I know that more children will be hurt or killed,” he said.
“You can’t look away from grieving parents who want change. “We are all united not only in our grief but also in our commitment to ensuring that this does not happen to anyone else.”
If you are having suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free, confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can call the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 988 or visit SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn