Mum’s horror at online claim of daughter’s death
AMOTHER was sent a social media post that falsely stated her teenage daughter had killed herself.
Victoria Williams was horrified to learn an image of her daughter with the caption “RIP Seren” was circulating on Snapchat.
The post said: “This gorgeous, independent, strong and loving girl took her own life due to years of depression and serious bullying.
“I have been her friend for so long and her family and I are absolutely heartbroken. Seren meant the most to all of us and all of us love you so much, angel.
“This message has been passed on by me on her social media so everybody is aware of why she will not be replying or posting. Thank you for everything you have done for us and what joy you have brought. RIP my beauty.”
The mum-of-three, from Wrexham, said she was “disgusted and sickened” when she got a phone call from a friend saying her child had seen the Snapchat post about Seren.
She said: “I had just dropped Seren at her friend’s house when I got the phone call off my friend. I called her immediately and she told me she’d only just seen it for herself.
“It made me feel sick to think that someone could do something like this and get away with it.”
Victoria said her daughter, who attends Darland High School in Rossett, has been having problems with bullies, which the school and police are investigating.
In a post on Facebook after the incident, furious Victoria wrote: “My daughter Seren is not dead, she has not killed herself. This is the kind of thing some kids will do these days to others, make up a vile Snapchat post saying that someone has killed themselves.
“How insensitive, how horrendous, how hurtful to both my daughter and to me and her father.
“I know that my daughter Seren would never ever do this to someone else as she knows right from wrong and has compassion for the feelings of others. Luckily I’ve done a good job in forming her personality and I’ve given her coping skills to help her deal with the actions of lesser people she will unfortunately come across.
“Check up on what your children are faced with on social media. Some kids won’t tell their parents like Seren does. Some kids won’t know how to deal with it and won’t be as strong as my amazing daughter Seren.”
Victoria has since been monitoring Seren’s phone and has access to her passwords.
She said: “It’s scary to think how few boundaries there are on social media. I’ve seen some things on there that have shocked me.
“Seren uses social media responsibly so I’m not punishing her by telling her to come off it.
“This is like a different type of bullying, this is very manipulative as youngsters are judged by their social media accounts and the amount of ‘friends’ and followers they have...
“I’m lucky she confides in me because she knows she needs my support to deal with this, but it’s sad to think other children can’t talk to their parents and we all hear about the devastating consequences...
“But the reaction to my Facebook post has given me the confidence to try and do something about this scary situation.”
Darland High School headteacher Peter Agnew said: “We take the social and emotional wellbeing of our pupils very seriously. Social media postings such as these are abhorrent and we have a comprehensive teaching programme that educates our pupils on how to behave and stay safe, when online.
“We will continue to work closely with Seren’s parents and the police to identify the perpetrator and if he or she is found to be a pupil at Darland, we will take appropriate action.”