Mental health care professionals and parents made a plea that Facebook should do something to stop criminals from posting their crimes on Facebook Live. A murder, which was streamed on Facebook last Sunday, created a huge impact as a killer did a random shootout and eventually committed suicide while live streaming.
Steve Stephens made it to the headlines after he made a video, which was aired on various social media platform displaying the heinous crime he committed. Before he moved forward with the murder, Stephens shared that he recently broke up with his partner, he lost everything and voiced out his motives. Stephens eventually took his own life after being chased by the police, as reported by TIME.
Several crimes have already been streamed live on social media, which include murder, rape, bullying and assault. It raised an alarm among parents as most social media platforms can be easily accessed by school-aged kids and teens, which can potentially impact their mental health.
Technology advancement is said to beneficial, but it did have a negative impact on children and teenagers. There are possible dangers of live streaming as the video, including the ones with explicit content, can easily go viral.
Aside from the crimes, suicide and self-harm videos also made its way through live streaming, which can potentially cause a chain reaction from the people who viewed it, The Guardian noted. Children, as young as nine took their lives while streaming it on Facebook Live. Even though some were bullied into doing it, there were those who used the social media platform to have their voices heard.
Several pieces of evidence have already emerged that emphasized the potential dangers of social media among teenagers. Social media have caused several mental health disorders including anxiety and depression. Hence, parents should be keen when it comes to monitoring their children's social media activity.
