How social media can be terrible for teens and the people fighting back with bans and more
'It meant Dan and his friends – without me knowing about anything other than the party nearby he'd asked permission to go to – could message one another online to meet, find their way to an illegal rave that had been organised through social media, and on the way there take a drug I'd never heard of, which was easily available by messaging a dealer, and affordable with a bunch of boys' paper-round and pocket money.'
That specific occasion was the first time Dan had gone to such an event. He died three days later from multiple organ failure caused by taking a dose of MDMA (Ecstasy) that, unknown to him, contained a lethal amount of the drug.
His mother has since founded, and is director of, the Daniel Spargo-Mabbs Foundation, a UK-based drug education charity, to help prevent similar tragedies. She retells what she went through in the 2024 book Un:Stuck: Helping Teens and Young Adults Flourish in an Age of Anxiety, by Irish nutritionist and wellness expert Kate O'Brien.
Fiona Spargo-Mabbs founded the Daniel Spargo-Mabbs Foundation following the death of her 16-year-old son Dan to help prevent similar tragedies. Photo: Fiona Spargo-Mabbs
Dan's story is also retold for secondary school audiences in the play I Love You, Mum – I Promise I Won't Die, from playwright Mark Wheeller, to help them make good choices.
Today's 18-year-olds have only known a world with social media in their pockets.
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