Wired and Wrecked – A Conversation from the Global Women’s Summit

An audience listens attentively at The Washington Post’s third annual Global Women’s Summit, featuring influential women from around the globe. (Courtesy/The Washington Post) 

On Thursday, Nov. 21, The Washington Post hosted its third annual Global Women’s Summit, an event designed to celebrate innovators and leaders across international industries and spark conversations about building a brighter future. Among the diverse panels discussing the strides women have made in business, entertainment and politics was a poignant conversation about an often-overlooked trauma affecting young women: the dangers of social media addiction.

The panel, moderated by Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and journalist, Perri Peltz, featured Tammy Rodriguez, a grieving mother who lost her 11-year-old daughter, Selena, to suicide after a prolonged struggle with social media addiction. During the discussion, Rodriguez addressed a critique commonly directed at parents of children battling such addictions.

“A lot of people are quick to say, why didn’t you take the devices away? Why didn’t you turn off the Wi-Fi? Be a parent, parent your kids better,” said Rodriguez. “But I hope that my words are gonna help you to understand how hurtful those words are and how I wish that it was that easy.”

Rodriguez shared the story of her daughter, Selena, whom she described as a bright and joyful child with a love for school. Selena’s initial interactions with technology were innocent, involving YouTube Kids and games on her tablet.

“She was running out of memory on the tablet, so I agreed, and I got her an iPhone,” said Rodriguez.

It was then that Selena’s behavior began to shift. With access to her own phone, she became engrossed in Instagram, Snapchat and more mature content on YouTube. Rodriguez recounted the challenges of trying to intervene.

“There’s one time in particular, I was driving, and her phone died, and she wanted mine, and I wouldn’t give it to her. She grabbed my arm here so hard that it was black and blue for weeks,” said Rodriguez, “all because I wouldn’t give her the phone.”

Attempts to limit Selena’s internet access often triggered extreme reactions, including running away and self-harm. Over time, Selena’s social media usage began to affect her academic performance. Images of her report cards were displayed during the panel, illustrating the dramatic decline in her attendance—from just five absences in 2018 and 2019 to 70 the following year, after she began using social media. Her behavior worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In July 2021, Selena Rodriguez tragically died by suicide. It was only after her death that her mother discovered Selena had been sexually coerced by men on Snapchat throughout her struggle with social media addiction.

“I found out that she had seven or eight Instagram accounts I had no idea about, and I found out that men were soliciting her for photos and other videos and things,” said Rodriguez.

Selena’s story, though heartbreaking, is not unique. Joining Rodriguez on the panel was Laura Marquez-Garrett, senior counsel at the Social Media Victims Law Center, who is assisting Rodriguez in filing a lawsuit against social media companies Meta and Snap for “defective design, negligence, and unreasonably dangerous features of the products” that contributed to Selena’s death.

Marquez-Garrett highlighted the predatory nature of social media algorithms.

“We have companies that are designing specific features for addiction. Things like the never-ending feed [and] the ‘like’ button,” said Marquez-Garrett. “It’s meant to give children in particular dopamine hits. It is meant to exploit vulnerabilities.”

Beyond addiction, Marquez-Garrett argued that these algorithms facilitate predators targeting young girls on platforms like Instagram and Snapchat.

“I’ve talked to hundreds of young girls, and they’re all getting pushed predators on Snapchat and Instagram right off the bat. I’ve also spoken to dozens of adult women, and when I ask them, none of them have the same experience,” Marquez-Garrett said.

Marquez-Garrett also noted that young adults often report being flooded with predatory contact until they reach ages 16 to 18, at which point the algorithm adjusts.

“They all have estimated ages, and in fact, they use that data for product development and marketing,” said Marquez-Garrett.

The discussion served as a reminder of the real-world consequences of social media’s unchecked influence on young users. It highlighted the urgent need for stricter regulations on tech companies, better education for parents and children about online safety, and a societal reckoning with the exploitation fostered by these platforms. Through events like the Global Women’s Summit stories like Selena can be amplified, sparking collective action, and advocating for a safer future for women and girls.