In the age of social media, children, teens and young adults are forced to navigate a minefield containing a myriad of dangers including harassment and cyberbullying, cyberstalking, exploitation, leading to extreme addiction, severe mental illness and emotional and behavioral disorders. Joining Mark Owen to tackle this delicate subject is Tammy Rodriguez, Safer Social Media Campaigner with the Parents’ Network. She lost her child Selena to suicide after being sucked into the dark world social media. Ms. Rodriguez explains how it "changed her into an entirely different child: Her mood changes were terrible, she became very aggressive, she would attack me and my older daughter physically" and verbally. Initially she feared that Selena was being bullied, only to learn later on that "she was being exploited online." Soon after Selena ended her life, Ms. Rodriguez brought a legal case against Meta: "Our family is actually one of the first families that filed in the US and I have heard nothing from Meta myself. I was in Washington for the Congressional hearing when the CEO’s were there", and Mark Zuckerberg offered what Ms. Rodriguez deemed an insincere apology. She firmly believes that "it wasn’t an apology, it was just something for him to try and feel a little better that day," Going forward, Selena’s mom would like her heartbreaking loss to stand as a serious warning for other parents: "People need to understand that it can be their child." Ms. Rodriguez asserts that even very bright and intelligent children can easily fall into the trap of social media and quickly spiral downward. "People really need to pay attention to what their kids are doing," she explains. "They really need to be involved in their kids’ lives, in general, not just when it comes to phones and social media."
🔔 Subscribe to France 24 now: https://f24.my/YTen
🔴 LIVE – Watch FRANCE 24 English 24/7 here: https://f24.my/YTliveEN
🌍 Read the latest International News and Top Stories: https://www.france24.com/en/
Like us on Facebook: https://f24.my/FBen
Follow us on X (Twitter): https://f24.my/Xen
Browse the news in pictures on Instagram: https://f24.my/IGen
Discover our TikTok videos: https://f24.my/TKen
Get the latest top stories on Telegram: https://f24.my/TGen
Add comment