The death of 14-year-old Molly Russell from Harrow, north-west London, has reignited debate about the dangers of social media after an inquest found that online content contributed to her suicide. Molly died on 21 November 2017, a day after a normal family evening watching television. Her father, Ian Russell, described the online world she fell into as 'the bleakest of worlds', where algorithms trapped her in a cycle of depressing content.
Senior coroner Andrew Walker ruled that Molly died from an act of self-harm while suffering from depression and 'the negative effects of online content'. The inquest heard that in the six months before her death, Molly saved, liked or shared 16,300 pieces of content on Instagram, of which 2,100 were related to suicide, self-harm or depression. She watched 138 videos containing such material, sometimes bingeing on them.
Ian Russell told the court that his daughter had been a 'positive, happy, bright young lady' who loved musicals and rock bands, but her behaviour changed in her final year. She became more withdrawn, though the family attributed this to teenage mood swings. Molly assured them it was 'just a phase'.
The inquest highlighted disturbing content on Instagram, including a montage of graphic suicide and self-harm clips set to music, some drawn from the TV drama 13 Reasons Why. A consultant child psychiatrist said he could not sleep for weeks after viewing the material. Molly's final Instagram activity was at 12.45am on the day she died, saving an image with a depression-related slogan.
The Russell family's lawyer, Oliver Sanders KC, noted that Molly left a note quoting a depressive Instagram post. The case has prompted calls for stronger regulation of social media platforms to protect vulnerable users.
