When a teen livestreams a suicide attempt for the world to see

When a teen livestreams a suicide attempt for the world to see. The video also left those who encountered it online or through news reports wondering what would drive a young person — Davis was just 12 — to invite unsuspecting friends and strangers to watch a life vanish before their eyes. Young people who've grown up communicating often exclusively through a smartphone may naturally turn to social media to talk about suicidal feelings. "People who are doing this are asking for help," Michaelis said. Davis appears to have broadcast other videos. It's unclear whether anyone who watched those streams reached out to Davis or tried to connect her with suicide prevention resources. Text 741741 for crisis support pic.twitter.com/nzLVPxro5B — Crisis Text Line (@CrisisTextLine) December 23, 2016 David D. Luxton, chief science officer of the suicide prevention nonprofit Now Matters Now, said broadcasting a suicide attempt could be likened to a kind of suicide note — a final, visceral message to the world. "There are times when a person feels suicidal and all they wish for is for someone to reach out and provide some kind of care and concern," Luxton said. Ultimately, friends and strangers witnessing suicidal feelings and behavior online should find some way to offer help or communicate how much they care, said Michaelis. If you want to talk to someone or are experiencing suicidal thoughts, text the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

Author: Rebecca Ruiz / Source: Mashable

On Dec. 30, Katelyn Nicole Davis turned on the livestreaming app Live.me at her home in Cedartown, Georgia, and broadcast her own suicide.

As that video spread across the internet and social media, it demonstrated how quickly technology can turn casual spectators into traumatized witnesses. The video also left those who encountered it online or through news reports wondering what would drive a young person — Davis was just 12 — to invite unsuspecting friends and strangers to watch a life vanish before their eyes.

While Davis’ death is an extreme, rare example of using social media to document ending one’s life, she isn’t alone in sharing a fatal suicide attempt. Last May, a French teenager used the smartphone app Periscope to stream her suicide.

“People who are doing this are asking for help. Some part of them that is hoping for that.”

Ben Michaelis, a clinical psychologist and consultant for Crisis Text Line, said that while the medium may have been shocking in Davis’ case, it’s common for someone in the midst of a mental health crisis to yearn for connection. Young people who’ve grown up communicating often exclusively through a smartphone may naturally turn to social media to talk about suicidal feelings. What’s less instinctive, however, is knowing where to find life-saving aid and comfort online.

“People who are doing this are asking for help,” Michaelis said. “Some part of them is hoping for that.”

Davis appears to have broadcast other videos. She talks playfully to the camera about singing and comedy. She confides about her family life, including allegations that an adult she knew tried to sexually assault her.

In one appearance she cries despairingly, saying she can’t go on. It’s unclear whether anyone who watched those streams reached out to Davis or tried to connect her with suicide prevention resources.

Michaelis said that adolescents and teens dealing with intense psychological distress face unique challenges. The brain isn’t fully developed until early adulthood, which limits judgment and long-term planning skills. That may help explain why someone in Davis’ position would make the drastic decision to broadcast her suicide attempt.

Severe mental illness also alters one’s sense of time: feelings of desperation combined with the perception that time is somehow running out can lead to an overwhelming urgency to act immediately.