'Parents should have access to kid's social media after their deaths'

A mum from Kent whose teenage son took his own life has told us parents should have access to their children's social media accounts after their deaths.

Tristan Taylor, from Gravesend, was just 15 years old when he died by suicide in May 2023 and his mum, Gemma Cayley Smith still misses him everyday, she said: "Grief is described as the love for someone but with nowhere to go and I'm never going to see him have kids, leave school, learn to drive or pursue a career of the things he may have wanted to do.

"Though I have to balance that with being grateful for the 15 years we had and as much as no parents must have to accept that their child has gone before them, I'm still so grateful that he was my son and that we had him for 15 years, 8 months and three days.

"Some people never get to meet their child so I have to find the positives that he did have a life, he was a person, he got to do some amazing things with amazing friends and was an amazing person who has left a huge impact on the world, that I hope that people don't forget, but if they do, I certainly won't.

"And that shapes my everyday, every action that I make, every thought that I have is because of him and because of the life he left behind but also the positive life that we carry on in his name."

This week, Greatest Hits Radio is investigating the impacts that phone usage can have on young people.

Just yesterday, a survey by Kent's Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Scott revealed that a third of youngsters have been bullied online - with 34% of primary children and 29% of secondary pupils have been bullied or picked on while online.

Meanwhile 16% of secondary students and 14% of primary children admitted they had bullied, picked on or been mean to someone else online.

And while an inquiry into Tristan's death found no evidence that social media played a part in his death, his mum believes his phone would have had some role, admitting she still doesn't have access to his accounts.

She said: "Had we have have known what we know now, or even if the things we still don't know, there may well have been the opportunity for us to support him in a much different way and to be able to ask him and therefore understand a lot more about what he was going through.

"And this feels very unfair because the laws still haven't changed - they say hindsight is a wonderful thing but it's a very cruel thing. It does make us very careful with my daughter, her phone and social media and she may see that as being incredibly unfair but I think there is just too much exposure for young people."