Social Media: A Dilemma of Life or Death

Introduction
Social media is embedded in the lives of young people, but its harms are becoming too serious to ignore. The widespread and unregulated use of social media poses a public health crisis (Cornman 2024) on par with smoking or alcohol. Considering the tragic stories of young teenagers like Molly Russell (Conklin 2022) and Christopher Dawley (Kelly 2022), it is evident that the addictive nature of social media is causing irreversible harm to the psychological wellbeing of adolescents. With teens unequipped to resist the algorithm, the urgency for regulation is no longer up for debate – it is a matter of saving lives.

In recent years, mounting evidence has drawn disturbing parallels between social media use and deteriorating mental health. Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat have become central to the daily lives of adolescents, yet their design, driven by engagement algorithms and addictive interface features, has been linked to increased levels of depression and suicidal ideation (O’Reilly et al., 2018). According to Liu et al. (2022), the risk of depression in adolescents increases by 13% for each hour spent on social media. Further research in this area concludes that spending more than two hours a day on social media is directly linked to psychological distress and suicidal ideation (Sampasa-Kanyinga & Lewis, 2015). Social media’s harms closely mirror those of alcohol and tobacco – products that are tightly regulated to protect young people. This raises a critical question: why hasn’t the same level of control been exerted over social media, given its similarly destructive track record? In response to this concern, this piece asserts that social media is deliberately designed to be addictive. Furthermore, because young users lack the autonomy to fully understand its risks, they are more vulnerable to long-term mental health issues and suicide. Using real case studies to support this argument, it becomes clear that social media must be recognised as a major health crisis and be regulated accordingly.

Designed for Dependency
Social media platforms are the perfect storm: an addictive design, engineered to capture and sustain user attention for long periods of time, and targeted towards young, highly impressionable people. By harnessing principles from social psychology, these platforms exploit fundamental human emotions, leading users to engage compulsively and repeatedly (Atalatti & Pawar, 2024). Features such as infinite scrolling, personalised algorithms, and constant notifications are strategically implemented to maximise screen time and, ultimately, generate profit for these platforms. Social media is programmed to keep users hooked through rewards such as likes, comments, and shares which tap into the deeply human desire for social validation. It triggers the part of the brain that controls reward and motivation, resulting in a similar feeling people experience when gambling or using drugs (Miller, 2022). According to De et al. (2025) social media manipulates the developing brains of adolescents making them not just more likely but primed to develop addictive behaviours. Recent findings from a University of Cambridge study revealed that nearly half of British teenagers feel they are addicted to social media (University of Cambridge, 2022). This widespread sentiment is echoed in the personal experience of 17-year-old student Kate Romalewski, who described her own struggle with social media addiction (Romalewski, 2023). Despite recognising how harmful it was to her mental health, she admitted, “I hated it…and I hated the self-comparison…but I couldn’t put it down.” (Romalewski, 2023). Kate’s story, like so many others, reveals the human cost behind social media’s engagement algorithms - proof that what appears as harmless scrolling is a deeply ingrained and damaging cycle. It is no longer just a personal problem; it is an addiction that demands urgent scrutiny.

The Silent Killer
The addictive design of social media is all the more alarming when considering its primary users: adolescents and children. During adolescence, the brain undergoes significant changes that increase sensitivity to external influence and social pressure (Venticinque et al., 2024). In fact, around 90 percent of teens report experiencing peer pressure, with much of that pressure now coming through a screen (Centerstone, 2022). This age group often lacks the autonomy and critical awareness needed to navigate these platforms safely, making them particularly vulnerable to exploitation. As a result, many young people are drawn into toxic digital spaces that feel inescapable, with consequences that can be devastating. These aren’t just abstract concerns; they are lived realities for families around the world. One such case, is that of Molly Russell, a “positive, happy, and bright young lady” from Harrow, North-West London, who fell into what her father described as a “vortex of despair”, fuelled by social media algorithms on platforms like Instagram and Pinterest. Her father called it “the bleakest of worlds,” warning that once caught in the algorithm, “you can’t escape it” (Milmo, 2022). On November 20, 2017, Molly took her own life. She was just 14 years old. Christopher James Dawley, a “bright, motivated and golf-loving boy” from Wisconsin, developed what his parents described as an “addiction to social media”, becoming increasingly sleep deprived and obsessed with his body image (Kelly, 2022). On January 4, 2015, Christopher held a rifle in one hand and his phone in the other and fatally shot himself. He was only 17 years old. Tragically, Molly’s and Christopher’s stories are far from isolated. Over the last fifteen years, teen suicides have surged by 62%, a period that also saw a sharp rise in social media use among youth (Cornman, 2024). With the evidence stacking up and lives at stake, the question is no longer if regulation is needed but how soon we’re willing to act.

Enough is Enough: The Answer is Regulation
The addictive and harmful nature of social media, particularly for young people, is no longer a topic for ethical debate. The cost of inaction is now so severe, it borders on negligence. The tragic deaths of Molly Russell, Christopher Dawley and countless others like them make it clear: our youth are choosing death over life as a result of an unchecked system failure. In the past, governments have acted swiftly to regulate harmful products like tobacco and alcohol. Social media, which is both addictive and readily accessible must be treated with the same urgency. In 2024, Australia took decisive action by passing the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act, becoming the first country to legally enforce age restrictions on social media access (Parliament of Australia, 2024). In New Zealand, similar conversations are underway, but time is of the essence, and these conversations must result in concrete reform. These steps represent the bare minimum of what is needed to respond to a public health crisis that is unfolding in real time. The evidence is overwhelming. The consequences are fatal. Continued inaction is no longer a policy oversight; it is a systemic failure with deadly repercussions. At this point, doing nothing is a choice. A choice that affects you, your friends, and your children. So, ask yourself: if you would not give your child a cigarette, why would you give them social media?

Social media is no longer just a tool, it is a product engineered for addiction with tangible consequences for the mental health and safety of young people. The evidence is undeniable, the damage is ongoing, and the cost is measured in young lives lost. Regulation is not a suggestion; it is a necessity. The tragic stories of Molly Russell and Christopher Dawley are not anomalies, instead they have become the norm. Is this the new normal you’re willing to accept, or the wake-up call you can no longer ignore?

References

1. Atalatti, S., & Pawar, U. (2024). Addictive Interfaces: How Persuasion, Psychology Principles, and Emotions Shape Engagement. In Interactive Media with Next-Gen Technologies and Their Usability Evaluation (pp. 47-66). Chapman and Hall/CRC.
2. Centerstone. (2022). What is peer pressure and who is at risk? Centerstone. Available at: https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/coroner-rules-molly-russells-cause-of-death-was-suicide-resulting-from-social-media/news-story/c57fdc3bd305b7558eff76405d1419b4
3. Cornman, E. (2024, September 11). Youth Suicide Is on the Rise: Yale Aims to Save Lives. Yale School of Medicine.
4. De, D., El Jamal, M., Aydemir, E., & Khera, A. (2025). Social Media Algorithms and Teen Addiction: Neurophysiological Impact and Ethical Considerations. Cureus, 17(1). Available at: https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.77145
5. Liu, M., Kamper-DeMarco, K. E., Zhang, J., Xiao, J., Dong, D., & Xue, P. (2022). Time Spent on Social Media and Risk of Depression in Adolescents: A Dose–Response Meta-Analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(9), 5164. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095164
6. Kelly, S. M. (2022, April 19). Their teenage children died by suicide. Now these families want to hold social media companies accountable. CNN.
7. Memon, A., Sharma, S., Mohite, S., & Jain, S. (2018). The role of online social networking on deliberate self-harm and suicidality in adolescents: A systematized review of literature. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 60(4), 384–392.
8. Milmo, D. (2022, September 30). “The bleakest of worlds”: how Molly Russell fell into a vortex of despair on social media. The Guardian.
9. O'Reilly, M., Dogra, N., Whiteman, N., Hughes, J., Eruyar, S., & Reilly, P. (2018). Is social media bad for mental health and wellbeing? Exploring the perspectives of adolescents. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 23(4), 601–613.
10. Parliament of Australia. (2024). Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024. Aph.gov.au; Parliament of Australia.
11. Romalewski, K. (2023). I was on track to spend 17 years of my life on screens. Chalkbeat. Available at: https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2023/11/2/23942334/smartphone-addiction-instagram-tiktok-snapchat-screentime-scrolling/"
12. Sampasa-Kanyinga, H., & Lewis, R. F. (2015). Frequent Use of Social Networking Sites Is Associated with Poor Psychological Functioning Among Children and Adolescents. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 18(7), 380–385.
13. University of Cambridge. (2022, March 28). Scientists find that the impact of social media on wellbeing varies across adolescence. University of Cambridge.
14. Venticinque, J. S., McMillan, S. J., & Guyer, A. E. (2024). Expanding Understanding of Adolescent Neural Sensitivity to Peers: Using Social Information Processing Theory to Generate New Lines of Research. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 67, 101395–101395. 9a href = "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101395">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101395