"Nobody cares!": The harrowing reality of social media for teenagers in London

Many people would be familiar with the recent case of Molly Russell, who sadly took her own life due to online bullying. Social media giants Instagram and Pinterest were present at the inquest, highlighting a pivotal moment in regulating social media. Her father, Ian, has also campaigned for the control of social media algorithms which may cause potential harm towards teenagers.

This case alone accentuates the rise of social media, which has undoubtedly altered the way information is exhibited. We are no longer required to visit the library to find answers, as we possess resources and search engines such as Google within our reach.

Published content has the ability to be manipulated or edited, therefore allowing us to polish the final product before it is broadcasted/posted online. However, this has also generated some negative influences. With the rising pressure of validation from others to online trolling and harassment or bullying, will this issue ever be grasped?

An interview with fellow teenagers in East London revealed sordid truths regarding the effects of social media on one’s mental health. Connie, 17, said: “This pressure, especially on people my age, to look a specific way can give you the vibe that you're not enough or don’t look right at all, especially when you have people on social media who want to enhance everything.”

Other teenagers aged between 13 and 19 were also asked to describe the meaning of social media to them. Interestingly, certain words were repeated more than once, thus underpinning that the regulation of social media needs to be improved.

A recent study from Ofcom found that: “Among children aged 8-17 who have experienced bullying, more than eight in ten experienced it through a communications device such as a phone or laptop.” These figures further suggest the need for regulation, as more teenagers are having access to social media every day in futuristic ways.

In the last decade, social media has seen extensive growth in use. From Facebook to TikTok, consumers have established new and innovative ways to display content, and communicate with friends, but more often than ever, harass fellow users online. Due to the lack of transparency behind troll accounts, it has promoted ease of use, including the ability to use hate speech without any notion of accountability.

Among the research carried out, most teenagers use TikTok, as opposed to a small minority who use Facebook. This may be due to the increasing popularity of creativity as well as a fast-paced lifestyle, which is evident on TikTok. Facebook may be seen as old-fashioned, and especially for use by older generations - something teenagers avoid, for a fear of being perceived a certain way.

This is particularly affecting those who have low self-esteem and look to specific figures or role models for validation. Although social media apps have introduced several techniques to tackle this, such as filtering and removing posts which could spread bullying, trolls are still growing faster than ever with the innovative way of creating new accounts after their previous one has been suspended. Due to this, Instagram has recently embedded a new feature which allows users to block trolls, as well as other accounts associated with them.

This feature not only protects the community from unwanted trolls, but it also gives a sense of reassurance that well-known social media companies are actually aware of these issues, and that they are being resolved accordingly. This is an example of social media regulation which is slowly becoming enforced on all platforms.

One report from the Indian Express indicates that among teenagers, the negative effects of social media on teenagers in the UK involves a delayed development as well as alterations in the brain’s structure. This is part of the mental health effects that have been kindled by online bullying, as well as the need to conform to ideologies that are non-existent outside of social media.

As well as this, an article from The Mirror on 20 November warns parents to “buy children phones without internet to protect them from online harm.” (2022). Ultimately, this is one solution to tackle the negative effects of social media on one’s mental health, as teenagers become shielded from such damaging content.

A victim of online bullying, 15, who does not wish to be named, who is one of those who have been affected, said: “I’ve been body-shamed in such a way that has almost prompted me to take my own life. I hated myself at one point because I thought they were right, that I was just a waste of space. People don’t realise the damage they incite until it’s too late. I would starve just to punish myself. I even used to self-harm. In a way, I thought I deserved it.”

Online harassment can have a knock-on effect on individuals. The example above regarding body-shaming may lead to a further lack of self-esteem, internalisation, and in some serious cases, suicide. These effects are the results of persistent and sometimes extremely damaging content available online, which may be as simple as perpetuating a particular look to direct harassment.

This was particularly the case with Molly Russell (as outlined earlier), in the sense that it was later discovered she had access to suicide content online, which eventually led her to take her own life. This is one of the grave reasons as to why dangerous content should be removed from online platforms, especially from young teenagers, as it has the effect of influencing their decisions when they appear to be at their lowest points.

However, with FOMO (fear of missing out) on the rise, will teenagers accept that social media isn’t all as it seems?

Social media can be an extremely dangerous place with dire consequences. If you or anyone else you know needs support, contact UK Helplines now:

Samaritans: Call 116 123 open 24/7

Crisis Text Line: Text SHOUT to 85258 open 24/7

CALM: Call 0800 58 58 58 open 5pm-midnight