Is Social Media Fuelling Child Marriage?

In his investigation for El País, Daniel Benjamin Wheeler examined how growing fears around social media are contributing to a rise in child marriage among Syrian refugees in Iraq. Through interviews with girls, families, and frontline workers, he uncovered how some parents, worried that their daughters’ digital interactions might bring shame on the family, were marrying them off earlier to reassert control and avoid perceived dishonour. The investigation was the first to document a direct link between social media use and early marriage in a Middle Eastern refugee setting, revealing a social dynamic overlooked by both the media and the humanitarian sector.

By identifying digital access and social media use as a contributing factor to early marriage in refugee settings, Wheeler introduced a new lens through which to understand the pressures faced by adolescent girls. The article prompted follow-up research by organisations including World Vision, whose subsequent findings confirmed that similar concerns were influencing marriage decisions across the region. Since its publication, the core insight of the piece has been echoed in academic studies and cited in policy discussions, contributing to a broader shift in how child protection practitioners assess risk in contexts where tradition and technology increasingly collide. The investigation has informed the development of new programmes focused on digital literacy, safeguarding, and psychosocial support, and continues to influence how humanitarian actors respond to the evolving risks faced by girls growing up in connected but constrained environments.