The obsession with the perfect face and body starts at a very young age for many women. Even though we know logically there is no such thing as perfect, it can be difficult not to obsess over our appearances. Social media and smartphones have made this problem exponentially worse for millions of people. Images of celebrities and beautiful people constantly fill our feeds and can cause serious physical and mental health issues. Moms Laurie Schott and Victoria Hinks believe social media apps and filters contributed to their daughters’ suicides, and they want other moms to beware of the dangers.
Schott and Hinks spoke to the New York Post about their daughters and their tragic suicides. They believe social media algorithms regularly pushed dangerous content to their girls.
“It was nonstop telling her that she wasn’t good enough, even though she didn’t look for that content,” Schott said of her daughter, Annalee. “So many data points were put together to create an algorithm for that poor child that could kind of sense that she was struggling.”
Analee died by suicide in November 2020 at age 18. After her death, her mother found her journal, and her daughter’s words broke her heart.
“Tonight was one of the worst nights I’ve had in a while,” Annalee wrote, per the Post. “I was sitting on my bathroom floor, telling myself how much I hated myself. Nobody is going to love me unless I look the part. I look at other girls’ profiles, and it makes me feel worse.”
Hinks’ 16-year-old daughter, Alexandra, who went by Owl, died by suicide in August 2024. The grieving mother has a very similar story to Schott’s.
“She was a beautiful girl, so beautiful, and social media just led her down a dark path,” Hinks told the Post. “The more she was on social media, it’s like it turned her into a different person.”
Even though her family made her wait until she was 13 to have social media and used parental controls, Owl got around them, her mother said. She likened taking her daughter’s phone away to taking drugs from an addict.
“When I look through her phone as her [now], I see all the stuff that was being served up really just normalizing depression and glamorizing suicide,” Hinks explained. “The ‘skeleton bride diet,’ and these creepy, very anorexic-looking girls, it affected her self-esteem for sure. She made herself throw up. She would ask me, ‘Are my eyes too far apart?’ And, like, where would she even get that?”
The Post caught up with the mothers as they kept vigil outside a California courtroom. A 20-year-old girl known as KGM in court documents sued Meta and Google in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging the platforms intentionally target and addict children. Schotts and Hinks think KGM is correct.
Schott told the Post this is a chance at vindication and an opportunity to force these companies to take responsibility for their actions.
“This is our chance at accountability for these tech companies,” Schott said. “But it has to be coupled with legislation, because I’m afraid that, even if the plaintiffs prevail, the companies will say it’s the cost of doing business, then go back to business as usual.”
Life is hard enough for young girls without the pressures of social media. We agree changes need to be made, but it still will be up to parents to monitor their children. Sadly, sometimes parents don’t always pay close attention to their kids’ online activity until it’s too late.
Note: If you or any of your loved ones are struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can always reach out to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling 988. They are available 24/7 by phone or online chat.
