A teenage girl struggling with anorexia searched on Google to find out how many calories she could eat in a day before tragically committing suicide.
Victorian father Robb Evans said his daughter Liv’s battle with an eating disorder was fuelled by schoolyard bullies and social media before she passed away in April last year.
“The claws were so deep in her body that she couldn’t see where to heal,” he said of his 15-year-old daughter, who held her urn under his right arm.
While he’s still seeking clarity on what his daughter was exposed to, the messages she readily showed him included advice about masking illnesses with water and clothing.
“It got even more sinister when we asked how few calories you could consume per day to survive,” he said.
‘She was looking for this content and was presented with more and more of it.’
Despite his grief, Mr Evans has put his energy into a campaign to force teenagers under the age of 16 to stay off social media.
Mr Evans previously told Channel Nine’s 60 Minutes that social media giant Instagram was “intentionally or unintentionally” targeting his daughter.
Victorian father Robb Evans speaks out following the death of his daughter Liv in April last year
“People who say, ‘I’m healthy and I live on 200 calories a day,’” Evans told the program
“I said, ‘Liv, they’re lying.’”
“I said, ‘You have to understand that these people may claim to be healthy,’ but I said, ‘You can’t survive on 200 calories a day and this is why.’”
Meta and TikTok allow children as young as 13 on their platforms, but neither platform can easily verify ages.
The 36 Months campaign, co-led by media personality Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli, has also received support from comedian Hamish Blake, Hollywood actor Tahyna MacManus, business people, academics and parents.
A petition signed by 110,000 people was delivered to the New South Wales parliament on Wednesday.
Even without platforms implementing a “very simple” technical method to verify age, implementing a legal minimum would give young teens the option to stay away and parents the ability to enforce bans, advocates say.
Liv Evans was exposed to disturbing information on social media platforms during her battle with an eating disorder
Wipfli denies carrying out an attack on social media and says Australia must acknowledge that young children are more vulnerable to doom-scrolling and other key features of Instagram and TikTok.
“We need it (the change) now. There are children living on the edge, so we have no time to waste,” Wipfli said.
According to experts in the field of eating disorders, teenagers need more time to develop without the influence of social media. They want, among other things, a ban for children under the age of 16.
“The teenage years are the most common age for eating disorders to emerge in Australia,” the Australia and New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders told a federal inquiry.
‘By looping content that reinforces beauty ideals, control over eating behavior, etc., the algorithm may amplify the challenges associated with developing an eating disorder and seeking treatment and recovery.’
Instagram’s parent company says it spent more than $5 billion (Australian $7.5 billion) on safety and security in the past year alone.
Teens searching for content about eating disorders or body image issues will now see a pop-up with tips and an easy way to connect with support organizations like the Butterfly Foundation.
“We have evolved our approach to eating disorder content and continue to review and update it in consultation with experts around the world,” Meta said during a federal investigation into social media.
Mr Evans said quiet children like his daughter needed to be protected
In NSW, age verification for online alcohol purchases has been trialled. The state government has indicated it could launch similar pilots for social media.
It is hoped that a state-hosted summit in October will produce innovative solutions to the challenges of social media.
Mr Evans said quiet children like his daughter needed to be protected.
“She was so loving and kind, very creative, loved animals and never had a bad word to say about anyone,” he said.
‘I miss her every day, of course.’
This global crisis has prompted politicians in Florida (US) to call for a social media ban for teens under the age of 14, while 15 and 16 year olds would need parental permission.
Texas also recently enacted a law requiring parental consent before a user under the age of 18 can open an account.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland says the Australian government will closely monitor how these bans work and whether they are effective.
This comes after South Australia also introduced a social media ban for children under the age of 14.
The state government has appointed former Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert French to conduct a legal review into the banning of children’s accounts.
Mr French will explore what regulatory and technological ‘paths’ the government could take to implement the ban.
Government policy also requires parental consent for children aged 14 and 15.
Meanwhile, in New South Wales, Premier Chris Minns said a summit will be held in October “to address the increasing harms that online platforms are causing to children and young people”.
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said the government takes children’s mental health seriously.
Lifeline 13 11 14
Child Helpline 1800 55 1800 (for persons aged 5 to 25)
Butterfly Foundation 1800 334 673