My daughter Molly was bright, creative, and full of kindness. But in 2017, when she was just 14 years old, her life ended after being exposed to harmful content online.
Of the 16,300 pieces of content Molly had saved, liked, or shared on Instagram, 2,100 were related to suicide, self-harm or depression. In a landmark case, the inquest proved that social media was not just a backdrop, but a factor in her death.
Every week, more young lives are lost where online harms have played a role and every one of those deaths could have been avoided.
My aim since Molly died, has been to do all I can to prevent more young people from coming to harm caused by the corrosive effects of harmful online content. We started Molly Rose Foundation, in Molly’s name, to ensure that young people can Live Long and Stay Strong, and because suicide caused by online harm is entirely preventable with the right education and support in place.
We need to normalise talking about mental health and empower young people to take proactive steps when they feel at risk online. Only then, with the right education in place alongside significant policy change, can we prevent more families from needlessly going through the same heartbreak
By donating £30 you could help fund a mental health training course for young adults to support their younger peers. Donate to the Live Long and Stay Strong Appeal here.
Since Molly died, I have spoken to too many other bereaved families who’ve been through the indescribable experience of losing a child where technology has played a role. It’s not right, and I’m determined to raise the voices of others because together our voices are stronger.
Today, I’m sharing with you Adele and Aimee’s story.
I met Adele Walton in 2023 because our lives were connected by a similar tragedy. Her sister, Aimee, was a talented musician and artist with a passion for music technology. “Aimee was smart, and so much cooler than me without trying” says Adele.
Aimee and Adele grew up as one the first generations in a wholly digital world, using platforms such as Facebook and YouTube from the age of 10. Adele quickly found that social media had a toxic influence on her life by negatively affecting her body image. Aimee, on the other hand, found online communities as a place to connect with others and share interests. But when Aimee’s mental health deteriorated, compounded by lockdown, she was steered away from music fan forums towards darker parts of the internet.
After struggling to cope with university, Aimee’s mental health seriously deteriorated resulting in a number of hospital stays for her own safety. Adele says her family were concerned about Aimee’s wellbeing as “she was leaving the house and not telling us who she was seeing or where she was going. We were just primarily so worried about her physical safety…we didn’t think that the online world would be the thing that put her most in danger.”
In 2022, at the age of 21, Aimee died by suicide in a hotel room. The family were later told by police that Aimee had died in the company of a man she had met online, who remained alive and they suspected watched her die.
It was later discovered that in the months before Aimee passed away she had been visiting a pro-suicide forum, a site where strangers talk to other people about taking their own lives and often encourages suicide. Through this site, she bought a poison which she used to take her own life.
“This website isn’t a safe space, it’s a toxic breeding ground, it is a space where despair is fuelled and suicide is ridiculed, and spoken about as casually as a decision to buy a new jacket or book a holiday”, says Adele.
Adele initially described her sister’s death as ‘suicide’ – but now says it no longer feels like a true representation because Aimee was so heavily influenced by an online community coaching her to take her own life. She says “is a person really choosing freely, when algorithms, which continued to show Aimee content relating to self-harm, power(ed) a darkening circle of interest and exposure? My feeling is that Aimee was groomed into making the decision.”
Online harm often builds up gradually making it difficult to spot. Young people need the skills to understand and navigate online spaces safely now.
Adele is now a writer and online safety campaigner. She is part of Molly Rose Foundation’s campaign against the pro-suicide forum and is calling for an inquiry to be launched into not just Aimee’s, but the many deaths linked to the site which has gone unchecked for too long.
Adele explains, “I feel it’s my duty to Aimee, because I wish I could have protected her, I’m doing what I am doing out of love for her that a lot of the time she wouldn’t let me give to her. And I think this is something that’s common with people who are struggling with their mental health. She didn’t want people to know how much she was struggling.”
£15 could fund two boxes of help cards for young people to find support at a time of crisis over the holiday season. Donate to the Live Long and Stay Strong Appeal here.
Young people like Molly and Aimee have been led down a harmful path by algorithms which are designed only to focus on engagement. They need the tools and skills to navigate the digital world, so they can lead safe and healthy digital lives. That’s why Molly Rose Foundation is working to connect children and young people to the support and guidance they need. We want young people to be able to recognise harmful design, understand how cumulative harms build up, and know how to find support
You can empower young people by donating £50 towards specialist school activities that build emotional resilience. Donate to the Live Long and Stay Strong Appeal here.
When a child can recognise harm early, and when a teacher feels confident to guide that conversation, it is the first step towards normalising habits that encourage better mental health and prevent problems further down the line.
Live long and stay strong were words written by Molly in her final days and is the message of hope that runs through everything we do today. We are working to create a future where every young adult has the strength, support, and safe online environments they need to flourish. Our mission is clear: no more preventable deaths. Not one more.
Ian Russell
Molly’s dad and Chair of Molly Rose Foundation
