Wednesday 23 January 2019

Don't Blame The Tool....


Sure it did. In the same way Land Rover & Kia are to blame for the Duke of Edinburgh's traffic accident.
Speaking publicly about her death for the first time, Mr Russell said last night: 'I have no doubt that Instagram helped kill my daughter. She had so much to offer and that's gone.'
His criticism of the photo-sharing site, which is owned by Facebook, comes after experts warned Instagram helped to glorify self-harm among vulnerable youngsters.
Last night hundreds of thousands of images depicting people harming themselves and discussing suicide could be viewed on the site, which is hugely popular among teenagers.
And if it wasn't that site, it'd be another.
Instagram's guidelines say posts should not 'glorify self-injury' while searches using suspect words, such as 'self-harm', are met with a warning. But users are easily able to view the pictures by ignoring the offers of help.
People have free will. The alternative is unthinkable.
Instagram said: 'Our thoughts go out to Molly's family and anyone dealing with the issues raised. We do not allow content that promotes or glorifies eating disorders, self-harm or suicide and work hard to remove it.
'However, for many young people, discussing their mental health journey or connecting with others who have battled similar issues, is an important part of their recovery.
'This is why we don't remove certain content and instead offer people looking at, or posting it, support when they might need it most.'
And they are as free to reject that help as to accept it. I can see why Mr Russell doesn't think that's a price worth paying. But that doesn't mean his opinion should overrule everyone else's.

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