THE family of Molly Russell, the 14-year-old girl found to have viewed content on social media linked to anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicide before taking her own life in November 2017, should be commended for highlighting what more can be done to prevent such content influencing vulnerable youngsters.

If social media firms can come up with algorithms that can predict what we’ll want for breakfast a week on Thursday, and then show us the options, they can surely invent similar systems which take down illegal content to protect users in need of support.

However the current focus on social media risks disguising the many other factors at play in the mental health crisis affecting young people. The government has promised additional funding, but how much of it actually reaches frontline services is debatable. While there are plans to roll out dedicated mental health support teams in all schools, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services remain stretched, and little attention is seemingly placed on the home environment.

It is such a complex problem that no single measure will provide the answer. There needs to be a combined strategy taking in properly funded public health interventions in homes, schools and among peer groups for real progress to be made. This would mean a vast rethink of local authority funding, which doesn’t seem likely any time soon.

Yes, social media firms have a part to play, and they must do better, but simply targeting Instagram and Facebook is not the solution.