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Mom raises awareness on social media & suicide prevention
Briona Arradondo reports.
NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - Technology can be addictive and suggestive, but in the hands of a vulnerable teenager some parents say it’s deadly.
The backstory:
Ian Ezquerra was his mother’s pride and a promising swimmer. He suffered in silence and died by suicide on August 14, 2019.
READ: Bradenton police officer takes his own life, department urges mental health awareness
"You start thinking about all the past things, like what could have been wrong, what is wrong, where did I not see what happened, how could this have happened," said Jennifer Mitchell, Ian’s mother.
The New Port Richey mom said social media influenced her son. She found out after getting into her 16-year-old’s Snapchat account.
"I saw some videos and those videos they looked like him playing Russian roulette on Snapchat, and I was mortified. What do I do with this?" Mitchell said.
Pictured: Ian Ezquerra.
MORE: Social media use triples depression symptoms for pre-teens: Study
She ended up suing Meta and Snapchat in 2022, one of many lawsuits filed by the Social Media Victims Law Center over the years. Others are also filing lawsuits over online platforms and teen suicide, including a California family suing OpenAI in August for encouraging their son to take his own life using ChatGPT.
"I can tell you he was geared to go towards, based off his algorithm, to danger videos, adrenaline-type videos where people were actually putting themselves in harm’s way for the attention and the likes," said Mitchell.
She now focuses on mental health through her non-profit, Ian’s Way.
Dig deeper:
With September being Suicide Prevention Month, help is a call away at 988.
READ: Snapchat sued by Florida Attorney General over child safety concerns
"Social media may be a fact of life. It’s something that exists and is easily accessible," said Lindsay Everest, the director of gateway services at the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay. "I think the important thing I want to make sure that everyone is aware of is that it doesn’t matter what’s going on, you always have a safe space to turn to."
The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay is reporting a higher call volume to the call center to support parents and teens using the simpler lifeline phone number, 988.
"In July, we passed a record 17,000 calls alone for that month. And for August, we were on track as of a couple of days ago to pass 18,000 calls," said Everest. "That means that people find it easier to remember. They can reach out when they’re in crisis, and when you’re in a state of crisis, you don’t want a hard-to-remember number."
What's next:
Mitchell said she didn’t learn the signs of suicide until it was too late. Now, she hopes for accountability.
"If companies will not take on the responsibility of actually fixing and owning their mistakes and putting lives first instead of profit, then we have to go the legal route," said Mitchell. "So, what impact could we have? The impact is really to change laws."
Mitchell said she’s been advocating for the National Kids Online Safety Act that is proposed in Congress to include protections against social media algorithms. She said she would like to see the age rise from 13 to 18 for access to an account.
What you can do:
If you or a loved one is feeling distressed, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The crisis center provides free and confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to civilians and veterans. If you or someone you know needs support now, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.
The Source: The information for this story was gathered by FOX 13’s Briona Arradondo.