Org Report

Children's Exposure to Suicide, Self-Harm, and Eating Disorder Content on Social Media (Wave Two)

Jun 2026 🇬🇧 Molly Rose Foundation

Suicide and self-harm are complex and never caused by one factor alone. Problematic screen use, cyberbullying, harmful content, and online exploitation may increase risk or intensify existing distress. If someone is in immediate danger or emotional crisis in the United States, call or text 988.

Outside the U.S.? Find your local helpline at findahelpline.com.

This June 2026 Molly Rose Foundation briefing is the second wave of a tracking study measuring UK teenagers' exposure to suicide, self-harm, depression, and eating-disorder content on social media after the Online Safety Act's child-safety duties came into force. The foundation — founded and chaired by Ian Russell following his daughter Molly's 2017 death — reports that around a third of 13-to-17-year-olds encountered this category of high-risk content weekly, rising to close to half of girls, and that roughly three-quarters of teenagers who encountered it did so on TikTok, which the foundation links to personalized recommendation systems. The foundation frames the findings as showing only limited change since the law took effect, headlined by its own statement that 'half of girls are still being exposed' to this content. TechKids Foundation includes this as documented survey evidence of a continuing pattern, not a claim that any platform directly causes individual harm.

~34% of 13–17-year-olds weekly

The foundation's wave-two survey found roughly a third of UK teenagers encountered high-risk suicide, self-harm, depression, or eating-disorder content weekly.

47% of girls

Close to half of girls surveyed reported seeing this category of high-risk content in the previous week.

76% via TikTok

Among teens who encountered high-risk content, the foundation reports about three-quarters encountered it on TikTok specifically.

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CITATION

Molly Rose Foundation. "Children's exposure to suicide, self-harm, and eating disorder content on social media" (wave two). June 2026. https://mollyrosefoundation.org/resource/13576/

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