A 19 year old girl committed suicide five days to Christmas and her mum blames it on social media. She says teens need more support around using social media.
The teen was found dead at her family home in Lanchester, County Durham, on December 20.The mum said more needs to be done to encourage young people to talk about their problems, while she also feels they need a better education when it comes to social media.
“Other people did not see what we saw. Chloe was the joker, bubbly and hilarious. She was the life and soul of the party.
“Chloe was beautiful, but she didn’t see that. She cared so much about how people saw her. She would post a picture on social media and want all her family to like it. If it wasn’t good enough she’d remove it.
“I blame social media a lot for what has happened. The impact it has, especially on younger people, can be devastating. Social media took over Chloe’s life – whether that be Snapchat or Facebook .
“She struggled socially from being at school so she didn’t work. Social media was her way of getting through the day. She didn’t go out a lot.
“Younger people need more help and education on social media. There are too many people out there who can say what they like because it’s not face-to-face.”
Chloe had been out with her mum and her friends on Friday, December 20, before she returned home at 9pm.
It would be the last time Clair saw her daughter alive.
She said: “I don’t go out very often and this was planned for months. I was in a bar when a bouncer got me and the police told me what had happened. I’d left her at 9pm and she took her own life at around 11.30pm at home.
“It is all a blur to me now. We were so close, she was my baby.”
Chloe had completed health and social care qualifications and had aspirations of being a carer.
Clair says the family is still coming to terms with the heartbreak caused by the shock loss of her youngest child.
The teenager also leaves behind brother Jordan, 22, sister Jade, 20 and her best friend – Lucy the spaniel.
Clair, a Post Office worker, says Christmas will never be the same again for the family.
She added: “We didn’t do Christmas this year, and I don’t think we’ll ever do it again.
“I took all the Christmas decorations down after she died apart from the Christmas tree because she put it up. I just couldn’t do it.
“Christmas will never be the same again for us. The anniversary of Chloe’s death will be five days before Christmas Day.”