Amy Neville, president of the non-profit Alexander Neville Foundation, advocates for increased safety measures on social media. Her advocacy stems from the loss of her 14-year-old son, Alexander, to fentanyl poisoning. The source of the pills? A drug dealer on Snapchat.
Neville’s mission is clear: to prevent other families from enduring the heartbreak she experienced. She said, “These days, my life’s work is traveling the country and educating folks on social media harms. Also, the drug crisis as it is right now and that all stems from the fact that I lost my own child.”
Neville revealed that Alexander’s curiosity about experimenting with drugs started when he was young. One day, she sensed something was different with him. When she asked, he initially downplayed it. However, worried Amy decided to take him to the doctor.
Alexander approached them a day and a half later, ready to talk. Neville noted that three key things emerged from the conversation while he opened up. “I wanted to experiment with oxy; I got some from a dealer on Snapchat; it has a hold on me, and I don’t know why,” he said.
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Neville said they took swift action, doing what anyone would do in such a scenario. The following day, she called a treatment facility; however, they needed time to formulate their recommendation. Unaware of the impending sad event, she carried on with her day.
Unfortunately, Alexander passed away that night. She said, “Everything happened really fast like death was not on the radar.” In June 2020, Alexander died after consuming counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl. Motivated by the tragedy, the Nevilles went on a mission to raise awareness about the dangerous intersection of social media and children’s vulnerability.
“There was a lot that was not being talked about at that time. One is the issue with fentanyl and counterfeit pills. The other being about the depth of social media harms,” Neville said. Undeterred, the Nevilles learned everything they could about these concerns.
Additionally, they met several outstanding experts and set out to create some content. Recognizing a missing piece, they included the youth perspective in their initiatives. Neville further acknowledges the knee-jerk reaction of parents to delete Snapchat from their children’s phones.
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Moreover, she advises parents to have conversations with their children about drugs on Snapchat, asking them if they have encountered drugs on the platform. “Our teens like to be smarter than us,” she said, presenting a potential opportunity for a conversation.
Regarding monitoring, Neville recommends spot-checking a child’s social media activity. Speaking of her experience with Alexander, she noted the oversight in not being aware of the drug emoji code at that time.
While vigilant for bullies and pedophiles, she emphasized the importance of being informed about nuanced aspects. This includes covert communication methods. To bridge this gap, she noted parents’ need to participate in online spaces where the teens reside. “If your kids are going to be on these apps, you have to be on them too.”
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