Social media killed her daughter. Now she's fighting against big tech companies.

Published: August 22, 2024

Social media killed her daughter. Now she’s fighting against big tech companies.

By Movieguide® Contributor

Becca Schmill “was a beautiful, caring person whose smile lit up any room.”

“She had her own hopes and dreams, but before she could begin her freshman year at the University of Richmond, Becca died at age 18 after taking drugs laced with fentanyl,” Becca’s mother, Deb Schmill, told USA Today on August 13.

Becca would turn 23 this year.

“Like many young people at the time, Becca got her first smartphone in middle school. Three years before her death, she was added to an online party chat where she was introduced to a group of 18-year-old boys – one of whom later raped her,” Schmill said. “She was 15.”

“As she attempted to process this trauma, the process was undermined by a humiliating cyberbullying incident. The shame and pain caused by the attack – compounded by the cruelty of some of her peers on multiple social media platforms – left a hole in her heart that Becca attempted to fill through self-medication,” she explained. “Becca had a loving family and the support of counselors, but social media allowed her to find illegal drugs whenever she felt the need to escape the pain she felt inside.”

Schmill wrote in a Boston Globe article: “All the support from family, friends, her school counselor and her therapists couldn’t compete with a few swipes on her iPhone to get medication.”

Becca’s story is unfortunately not uncommon. Millions of children experience the dangerous side of social media every day, just as she does.

“The scary thing is that when a child is harmed online, it is often because social media is working exactly as it was designed to,” Schmill said. “Platforms like Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook use powerful algorithms designed to maximize time spent on their apps. They reward despair and outrage and target the most vulnerable among us.”

In April, Movieguide® reported on a wave of child deaths caused by the dangers of social media:

From national lobbying to bills and documentaries, families are desperate for change.

“Jaime Puerta’s 16-year-old son, Daniel, died four years ago after taking a counterfeit oxycodone pill laced with pure fentanyl, the illegal opioid, that he bought from a dealer he found on Snapchat. In 2022, Puerta sued Snapchat in a wrongful death lawsuit. At the time, his lawsuit was one of the first to accuse social media of posing a threat to children’s health,” CNN reported on April 13.

“There are now hundreds of such lawsuits against social media platforms claiming that teenagers across the country have been harmed by their use of social media, said Matthew Bergman, founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center, which has filed many of these lawsuits,” according to CNN. “In some cases, families claim their children used social media to buy drugs; in other cases, parents say their teens viewed dangerous content and harmed themselves. The lawsuits allege a range of harm and distress.”

Schmill argues that adolescents are in a critical developmental phase. They are not yet mature. It is extremely difficult for parents to be aware of what may be happening or to intervene.

“Social media hijacks their brains… The apps can turn a happy life into a nightmare,” said the grieving mother.

“When I tried to raise my concerns on social media platforms, I quickly realized that they had no interest in making their products child-safe. Their primary interest was and is increasing engagement to increase their profits,” she said.

According to social psychologist and author Jonathan Haidt, social media is the leading cause of mental illness among adolescents today.

“Depression and anxiety among young people are on the rise: one in three teenage girls has seriously considered suicide in the past year,” said Schmill. “In addition to mental health problems, sextortion and drug trafficking on the internet are also exploding. The US Department of Health and Human Services has rightly called for warning labels to be placed on social media apps, but much more needs to be done.”

“Big tech companies put profit first, even though their own internal research shows that their design features harm children,” she said. “That’s why laws like the Kids Online Safety Act – which requires tech companies to prioritize children’s safety in design decisions and enable the strongest safety settings by default – are so important. The bill is a critical first step.”

Schmill believes the best way to protect children is to “go beyond legislation.” The internet and social media should change to “empower,” not “harm.”

“We need a new way forward that creates a better digital experience for everyone – especially children,” she said.

“Today, more than 170 million Americans use TikTok, and a significant percentage of TikTok users are under the age of 15.”

“After YouTube, it is the most popular platform for young people. This year, Congress passed a law giving Chinese parent company ByteDance up to a year to sell TikTok’s U.S. business or face a ban. What happens next will affect every parent and child in this country,” Schmill said.

That’s why Schmill supports Project Liberty’s People’s Bid for TikTok and believes others who care about children’s well-being should do so, too.

“The truth is that most kids use TikTok, and the same problems we find on other apps – cyberbullying, addiction, toxic algorithms – are aroused on this platform. Under Project Liberty’s vision, led by founder Frank McCourt, TikTok would be redesigned without its algorithm and many of the harms of social media would be addressed at their source,” she said.

“Project Liberty’s plan would also give people control over their data. The platform would be designed for a safer, healthier online experience. And it would finally give people — what the apps call ‘users’ — a voice in our digital future. In other words, the People’s Bid for TikTok would create the blueprint for a digital world where people are in charge,” the mother said.

Schmill encourages parents to advocate for children’s rights everywhere in the world.

“Have conversations while waiting in line to pick up your kids from school, at parent-teacher meetings, on the sidelines at soccer games, and at the kitchen table with your family,” she advises.

“As we prepare for the new school year and you think about how to protect your child, ask yourself, ‘Are they safe online?’ and ‘Is their relationship with social media healthy?’ Have an open dialogue with your child and let them know it’s OK to talk to you about what they see on social media – and tell others how the ‘People’s Bid’ would make TikTok safer and healthier for kids.”

If the Internet and social media had been developed with the protection of children in mind, Becca might have survived.

“I miss Becca every minute of the day and don’t want any other family to go through what ours went through. As a mother and as an American, I am fighting for the right to take back control of our online world. I encourage all parents to join me,” she concluded.

After Becca’s death, Schmill founded the Becca Schmill Foundation in her honor. The foundation promotes safe internet and social media use for children, engages in communities, and funds research to promote a better digital future.