Kids will be kids. It was ever thus. Sometimes, even the most placid and obedient child will break the rules, go where they want to go, do what they want to do. They’re mostly small streaks of rebellion, part of growing up, pushing the boundaries, and in the majority of cases they end not too badly, sometimes giving a timely warning to tread more carefully in the future. The online world has made these journeys of discovery potentially far more dangerous, and can bring tragedy for children without even stepping out of doors. Kids, with eyes glued to smartphones, sometimes in full view of parents, can be venturing to dark places. It’s not unusual now for a haze of blue light to infuse a room, as everyone studies their phone while the television blares, unwatched, in one corner. Alone, in the privacy of their own room, children and young people might be travelling even further towards despair and disaster. These dangers have been highlighted recently with the case of 14-year-old Molly Russell. An inquest has finally found that social media materially contributed “more than minimally” to Molly’s suicide in 2017. But five years on, the Online Safety Bill has still not come into law. Molly’s father, Ian Russell, has tirelessly campaigned for the introduction of legislation, repeatedly voicing his concerns that the Bill might be “watered down,” or delayed even further. Mr Russell also continues to stress that online platforms must not be permitted to self-regulate their content.

At the inquest, coroner, Andrew Walker, said that Molly appeared as a healthy girl who was flourishing at school and displaying an enthusiastic interest in the performing arts. However, he said, Molly had become depressed, something common for children of that age. Her condition worsened into a depressive illness, and the coroner concluded that she died “from an act of self-harm, while suffering from depression and the negative effects of online content.” He added that Molly had “access to images, video clips and text concerned with self-harm and suicide, or that were otherwise negative or depressing in nature.” And Mr Walker ruled that Molly saw images that “shouldn’t have been available for a child to see.” Support for urgent changes to the law has come from, amongst others, Prince William, the Prince of Wales, who says that online safety for young people should be a “prerequisite not an afterthought.” Links to children seeing harmful as well as extreme violent content on social media have been underestimated, according to a report from criminal justice consultancy, Crest Advisory. The group worked with the parents of 13-year-old Olly Stephens, murdered by two 14-year-old boys in Reading, last year. Olly’s father, Stuart Stephens, said his son was “groomed, abused and murdered via social media.” The case against social media companies self-regulating their content is strong. Children are frequently far more adept at online activity than their elders; if harmful content is out there, they will find it. It’s time for our legislators to act.