Wake up on Charlotte's dying wish
May 2026
Loran Tang, recruiter and training coordinator of Children’s Ministry
Charlotte O’Brien, only 12 years old when she took her life away
Wake up on Charlotte’s dying wish
Australia is the first country to ban children under 16 from using social media. But did you know that one of the advocates of this policy was herself a victim of social media—a 12-year-old girl named Charlotte O’Brien? Yes, only 12 years old!
Charlotte came from a typical family. Her mom, Kelly O’Brien, understood that a young child should not use a cell phone. However, out of concern for safety, she still gave Charlotte a phone in case she was late to be picked up from school. Unfortunately, that was the start of their nightmare.
Once Charlotte got her cell phone, she pleaded with her mom to allow her access to social media. Like most parents, Kelly gave in. Charlotte began using Snapchat and was very quickly subjected to relentless taunting by peers who targeted her through group chats, including derogatory messages calling her “fat and ugly” and telling her to kill herself.
Her parents explained that Charlotte had been banned from using Snapchat and had her phone taken away after breaking two rules. However, when she got her phone back for just over a week, “that week was enough to have a significant impact on her,” which led to her suicide.
“Charlotte's final act before taking her life that night was to leave handwritten notes for her parents. She pleaded with her mum and dad to tell her story to raise awareness of what can happen to children online.”¹
Charlotte’s death literally shattered her parents.
“I’m so devastated by that, as I gave her that phone,” Kelly said. “By giving our kids these phones, we’re giving them weapons. We’re giving them the world at their fingertips.”
In order to honor Charlotte’s final wish and help stop this tragedy from happening again, Kelly O’Brien and Matt Howard launched the “Charlotte’s Wish” campaign to advocate banning social media for children under 16.
The effectiveness of banning social media for children under 16 is debatable. However, I am not advocating for such a policy in Canada. I believe government intervention should be a last resort. Parents, as the first line of guidance and protection, play the most critical role in addressing this issue.
Navigating social media alongside our children isn’t easy, but there are tools and resources available to help. If you want to start with teaching your children about internet safety and gaining insight in social media world, you can learn more here:
Internet Safety 101: Quick Guides & Downloads
Helpful books recommended by Focus on the Family: https://shop.focusonthefamily.ca/parenting/social-media
An article from TCG: Saving Our Kids from Scrolling to Death
1: source from Dailymail.com: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-14092647/Charlotte-OBrien-suicide-social-media.html
You can watch the following video for the full story of Charlotte O’Brien:
Charlotte’s dying wish: Grieving parents fight for social media ban | 60 Minutes Australia (on YouTube)
A separate news regarding a dangerous website 764: 764 network: Father on daughter being groomed by group
Connect to Cheryl: cheryl.li@bacfamily.org
Connect to Loran: loran.tang@bacfamily.org