Story Mother sues Meta & Snap for suicide of 11-year-old girl

[Depressed Cat]

She was just 11 years old when she CTB.

Meta Platforms Inc. and Snap Inc. are to blame for the suicide of an 11-year-old girl who was addicted to Instagram and Snapchat, the girl's mother alleged in a lawsuit.

The woman claims her daughter Selena Rodriguez struggled for two years with an "extreme addiction" to Meta's photo-sharing platform and Snap's messaging app before taking her life last year.

In November, a group of U.S. state attorneys general announced an investigation of Instagram over its efforts to draw children and young adults, taking aim at the risks the social network may pose to their mental health and well-being. The states' probe was launched after a former Facebook employee turned whistle-blower testified in Congress that the company knew about, but didn't disclose, harmful impacts of its services like Instagram.

The backlash against social media isn't limited to the U.S. The father of a 14-year-old in the U.K. touched off a firestorm when he blamed her 2017 suicide partly on Instagram.

Meta, Snap Sued Over Social Media ‘Addicted’ Girl’s Suicide

Meta Platforms Inc. and Snap Inc. are to blame for the suicide of an 11-year-old who suffered from depression and sleep deprivation after becoming addicted to Instagram and Snapchat, the girl’s mother alleged in a lawsuit.

www.bloomberg.com

 

[Snake of Eden]

I know this may sound controversial but I say good for her. I hope she wins and get alot of money. Instagram should be shut down imo. It is one of the most evil things in the world. I hate hate instagram and snapchat.

 

[Crazy4u]

I want to see congress members who are after ss to support this woman. I said it before and I will say it again: the big tech websites are more dangerous to young people than ss but the prolifers won't go after them. They are just obsessed with ss

It is so sad to see a kid ctb. I hope the mother finds closure

 

[Onthe29th]

If they think they have a case then I guess they should go for it. I just think that most of the time, the reason people ctb is deeper then that.

 

[settheory]

While i am not not a fan of those companies either, let's not jump to conclusions and believe exactly what those parents say. That's a very common thing abusive parents say, that it was social media, not them. I am NOT telling with 100% confidence that they did abuse them, but we have practically very little to no context and only one side of the story. Something they naturally would tell, no matter how honest or distorted or even just false what they tell about their children is. And i am not denying that the platforms might have had a bad impact either. Among addiction to those platforms and/or abuse, it might have also been some other things. Like bullying or other things. It might have been more than one of those at the same time. We simply don't know what exactly happened.
Edit: Therapists are not always 100% trustworthy either. They very often side strongly with parents, believe everything parents say, believe that they do no wrong, and dissmiss everything a minor says.

 

[myopybyproxy]

While i am not not a fan of those companies either, let's not jump to conclusions and believe exactly what those parents say. That's a very common thing abusive parents say, that it was social media, not them. I am NOT telling with 100% confidence that they did abuse them, but we have practically very little to no context and only one side of the story. Something they naturally would tell, no matter how honest or distorted or even just false what they tell about their children is. And i am not denying that the platforms might have had a bad impact either. Among addiction to those platforms and/or abuse, it might have also been some other things. Like bullying or other things. It might have been more than one of those at the same time. We simply don't know what exactly happened.
Edit: Therapists are not always 100% trustworthy either. They very often side strongly with parents, believe everything parents say, believe that they do no wrong, and dissmiss everything a minor says.

Good points. Also let us remember that children are under the control of their parents. A 9 year old should not have those apps - or a phone at all, except in situations where it is necessary for communication. The mother probably feels extreme guilt for allowing her child access to those things and is projecting it onto the corporations themselves rather than taking responsibility. It is the same defence mechanism in which families of those forum members who succeeded engage via trying to shut down the forum.

 

[avoid_slow_death]

Yeah, this is definitely a complex topic. Truth is, tech like this is popular for a reason. I feel it has more to do with societal pressures in the real world rather than the apps themselves. Part of this is the way we raise children. And by that I don't mean what we tell them, rather the example we set by how we live our lives and how interactive we are with them. There's also the fact that the world is heavily monetized. Hell, even on this forum I see people worshipping God Money. Things like this and our inclination to label things that "aren't like us" and we refuse to try and understand are huge factors that contribute to these situations. Maybe I am wrong and don't know what the fuck I am talking about, but I have a lot of experience with many different people. Most of them on the fringes of society and this is the conclusion I have come to.

 

[Of The Universe]

The whole rise of big tech has been a disaster. We seem to be utterly incapable of fixing this mess. Fuck the Zuck!

 

[lonleycrowdedwest]

I want to see congress members who are after ss to support this woman. I said it before and I will say it again: the big tech websites are more dangerous to young people than ss but the prolifers won't go after them. They are just obsessed with ss

It is so sad to see a kid ctb. I hope the mother finds closure

I completely agree. I've posted a few times in the moment suicidal and everyone way very caring and asked me to reconsider, without the platitudes and legal/medial problems that would have come with.

 

[Pluto]

Sad to see someone so young die for the sickness of our corporate-tech society. There's two basic sides to the story.

1) It is not valid to sue Jack Daniels if a child becomes an alcoholic and dies of alcohol poisoning while the parent stands by professing to be powerless.

2) The psychological poison of social media is directly available and marketed to children, despite being openly created by nefarious psychological wizards intent on 'brain-hacking' the masses for financial gain. Hence, using these outlier cases as grounds to stand up against the evils of harming children is appropriate, even if there can be other factors involved such as autism, questionable parenting, etc.

 

[yoyogirl]

But the thing is that kids of this age are not interested in the "kids version" or a sim card, especially for children and it becomes more complicated because Facebook/IG is all 13+ plus and kids can easily add on two years on to the app. Then there is the talking in code or some language that is different.

 

[WhiteDespair]

so, she was a shit mother who didn't take her daughter's phone away when she knew that her daughter had an "extreme addiction" to social media for years. and, now she wants to avoid her role in her daughter's death by blaming others. she gets what she deserves.

bless the daughter, an unfortunate casualty.

 

[AnestheticVoid]

so, she was a shit mother who didn't take her daughter's phone away when she knew that her daughter had an "extreme addiction" to social media for years. and, now she wants to avoid her role in her daughter's death by blaming others. she gets what she deserves.

bless the daughter, an unfortunate casualty.

Exactly.

 

[jemetire]

Is 16 or 17 old enough?

 

[yellowroses]

She was just 11 years old when she CTB.

Meta, Snap Sued Over Social Media ‘Addicted’ Girl’s Suicide

Meta Platforms Inc. and Snap Inc. are to blame for the suicide of an 11-year-old who suffered from depression and sleep deprivation after becoming addicted to Instagram and Snapchat, the girl’s mother alleged in a lawsuit.

www.bloomberg.com

This is really so sad, but I can't help but question the parents here. They claim she was "addicted" to social media, why the fuck would they let an 11yo have enough unrestricted access to the internet to become addicted?? I feel bad for everyone involved here and honestly hope they win the lawsuit, but this just reeks of parental neglect. Hope the kid is at least at peace

 

[iusedtobehappy]

This is so unbelievably sad and unnecessary. At 11, depression can possibly be turned around. But whats out online is always going to be there, good or bad. This is on the parents though I feel terrible for their pain. An 11 year old should never be online unsupervised. Even at 18, it's dicey. Under 18, no way.