Parents lobby Congress for new social media rules
Newsy
Despite keeping a close eye on their daughter's online activity, a family learned she was subjected to online peer pressure.
Brandy and Toney Roberts have eight kids, but Englyn was the only one who grew up in the social media age. She started using social media around age 11, but her parents kept a close eye on her online activity.
"We knew her unlock code. We knew her passwords to things, so we really were not concerned about anything because we were seeing what was being posted by her," father Toney Roberts said.
Englyn's mom Brandy recalled, "She liked the glam. She liked, you know, I gotta take a picture because I have this new outfit. I have this new hairdo. I got to show my nails."
But it wasn't until after tragedy struck that Brandy and Toney learned about the peer pressure and sadness their daughter experienced online. One night in August 2020, Brandy got a message from another friend's mom asking if they had checked on Englyn. They discovered Englyn had attempted to take her own life.
She was rushed to the hospital but died nine days later. In the aftermath, her parents looked through Englyn's cellphone and were shocked at what they found.
