'Our children's lives depend on it': Mother's desire for social media reform

A Central West mother has called for an overhaul to the legal age of social media access after bullying contributed to her daughter's death.

Emma Mason spoke at the Social Media Summit in Adelaide on Friday, October 11. The summit, cohosted by the NSW and South Australian governments, examined social media's effect on children.

Ms Mason's daughter, Matilda "Tilly" Rosewarne, died by suicide on February 16, 2022, at the age of 15, after years of online social media bullying.

"Sadly, Tilly died by a thousand cuts that occurred over the course of her very short life, cutting into her soul and destroying who she believed herself to be," she said.

"Technology and social media has changed everything for them. Our children are no longer safe in their homes, when the school day ends.

"They're always connected and battling whatever is going, in the playground, on the bus, at the party."

Read more about the social media summit here.

Ms Mason said the bullying began in primary school and began face-to-face before it moved to social media.

"From not being invited to parties that everyone is at, only to have girls ring, text and taunt all night long and later, bully on social media," she said.

It lead to her first suicide attempt on February 14, 2020, the first of 11 attempts.

According to Ms Mason, the pivotal moment occurred on November 23, 2020.

Around 1pm, she received a phone call from Tilly, who said an alleged nude photo of her had been circulated on Snapchat, reaching an estimated 400 children across Bathurst within three hours.

"On arriving home, I found Tilly hysterical and spiralling," she said.

"It was pretty horrific. She was psychologically unthreading. If ever there was a day that Tilly was unpacking as a person, it was this day. She never really recovered."

Despite ringing the police immediately, Ms Mason said her call wasn't returned until 2pm the next day.

The school was unable to do anything.

"Police just don't have the power to identify the sender. But in a small rural community, this event was catastrophic," she said.

Harassment and bullying on social media were ongoing until her death and it even occurred after she died.

"A boy wrote on Tilly's own Instagram: 'She tried to high-five a tree and was left hanging'. When confronted about that message, the boy asserted that his Instagram account had been hacked," Ms Mason said.

Read more about the social media summit here.

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It's because of Tilly's experience that Ms Mason wants to see social media law reforms.

She wants to make it illegal for children under the age of 16 to access social media.

"I know it's not a silver bullet, but I don't accept the argument that it will simply push social media underground and therefore there's no point in trying," she said.

"The law now states that cigarettes and alcohol can't be sold to people under a certain age. And there is of course a black market. But the providers of cigarettes and alcohol to child are charged."

While Ms Mason acknowledges the good that social media does in helping young people who are marginalised and socially isolated to feel connected, she said it is still "destroying them".

"Raising the legal age to 16 is crucial to give some power back to parents, who are in constant daily battles with their own children in longue rooms across our great nation," she said.

"We want this law because our children's lives depend on it. It's a social issue. It's a health issue. It's certainly a mental health issue. And it's a child protection issue."

Read more about the social media summit here.