About
The Molly Rose Foundation (MRF) is a charitable foundation set-up by the Russell family and their friends following the tragic loss of Molly Russell at the young age of 14. Through in depth research and policy work, the organization aims to combat the phenomenon of young suicide. After it was concluded that Molly had suffered from depression along with the negative effects of social media, MRF set out to uncover the role various social media platforms play in suicides and advocate for change to prevent it.
Challenge
Nearly two years after initial publication, the Molly Rose Foundation conducted a comprehensive analysis of suicide, self-harm and intense depression content on TikTok and Instagram. Building on previous research undertaken in November 2023, supported by Bright Data’s Dataset Marketplace, MRF analysed over 1,600 social media posts, using accounts opened as a 15-year old girl, to assess the risks of exposure to harmful content. The study investigated how TikTok and Instagram’s engagement-based algorithms recommend content, how high risk user engagement features can expose young people to harmful content, and the accessibility that young people have to access and discover suicide, self-harm and depression posts.
Impact
The research findings highlighted that TikTok and Instagram continue to recommend substantial amounts of harmful content to young users. On TikTok, 96% of videos in the “For You Page,” and 97% of Instagram Reels, were identified as potentially harmful, especially when viewed in large quantities. Furthermore, high-risk algorithmic designs allow harmful content to reach vast audiences, with TikTok posts garnering an average of 226,000 likes. Notably, 9% of such posts exceeded one million likes.
MRF remains committed to advocating for stronger child protection measures on social media, even with the Online Safety Act in effect. The release of this research is sparking important conversations around internet safety for minors and advocating for stronger child protection measures on social media platforms.
Full Report: Pervasive-by-design – Suicide, self-harm and intense depression content
on TikTok and Instagram, and how their algorithms recommend it to teens
Sky News: TikTok and Instagram accused of targeting teens with suicide and self-harm content
The Telegraph: Labour ‘playing gesture politics’ with online safety, says Molly Russell’s father
