Those who committed suicide during a live broadcast, from left to right: 18-year-old Gleb Korablyov from Moscow, a 17-year-old girl from Zelenograd, 18-year-old Pakistani teenager Shuaiby Aslam, and 33-year-old American US army veteran Ronnie McNutt.
Livestreamed suicide is an internet phenomenon that occurs when a person deliberately broadcasts their suicide through a live stream via online platforms such as social media or video hosting sites in real time to an audience of viewers.[1]
Livestreamed suicide broadcasts have become a new public health problem in many countries. Regular users are often the first to witness such suicides and react to them.[2] The lack of instant moderation, the nature of distribution algorithms, and delays in moderation responses make live streams particularly vulnerable to prolonged exposure to harmful content,[1] depriving the deceased of privacy and often traumatizing relatives and viewers.[3]
One of the first cases of a suicide livestream was broadcast in 2008 when 19-year-old teenager, Abraham K. Biggs, from Florida wrote several times on an online bodybuilding forum that he was planning to kill himself. Finally, he posted a link to the live-streaming site Justin.tv, where a video was shown of him killing himself with an overdose of prescription drugs. According to ABC News, some bloggers who caught the live broadcast egged him on while he was in the act of hanging himself.[4]
High-profile incidents began to emerge as early as the 2010s. In 2016, The Guardian reported that a young man's suicide had been broadcast on Periscope in France, prompting an investigation by law enforcement agencies and public outcry.[5][6]
A study on the use of social media to express suicidal thoughts/actions in Bangladesh reported 19 cases of suicide after announcements on social media, two of which were livestreamed.[7] Between 2003 and 2016, at least 193 similar incidents were recorded in China. Most of them occurred on social media.[8]
Reasons
Ang Li, a professional in the field of psychology and psychiatry, defines live suicide broadcasts as the disclosure of suicidal tendencies, including suicidal thoughts, plans, or attempts on the Internet without any time delay.[2]
Such cases highlight the interconnected nature of real-time digital platforms, which allow stories about suicides to become popular and details to develop due to public participation and the spread of information.[9] Live streaming can be seen by the author as a way to perceivably "get through", ask for help, or "leave a last message".[10] The Centre for Suicide Prevention notes that a 35-year-old man from China broadcast his hanging live, likely to send a message to his loved ones, who may have wanted to see him in his last moments, and to explain his state of mind without words.[11]
The individuals who livestreamed suicidal behavior were mostly younger than 35 years old. The victims experienced relationship conflicts and academic stress, as evidenced by their last posts before harming themselves.[10]
The Washington Post reported on a 12-year-old girl who committed suicide in live broadcast, citing sexual abuse by a relative as the reason for her actions.[12] The video of her suicide spread across various websites. The police were virtually unable to prevent the spread of the footage on the Internet.[13]
Consequences
World Health Organization notes that there is evidence that media reports of suicide can either strengthen or weaken suicide prevention efforts. Widespread stories about deaths by suicide are often followed by an increase in suicides among the population, while stories about overcoming suicidal crises can lead to a decrease in suicides.[14][15]
Studies note the Werther effect, an increase in copycat suicides following media or public coverage of suicide.[16] In the modern context of social media, evidence suggests that there is a risk of imitation, especially if the content is dramatized or the methods are described in detail.[17] Direct depictions of death increase the risk of acute trauma, flashbacks, and mental health deterioration in vulnerable groups.[10]
Notable cases
In Russia
On October 17, 2019, in Moscow, 18-year-old student Gleb Korablyov committed suicide. The young man broadcast the event on his VKontakte page. He raised a Saiga-12K carbine to his head, shouted the phrase "nya.bye" used online by another teenager, Renata Kambolina, who had similarly committed suicide, and pulled the trigger. Two and a half hours later, police officers arrived at the apartment and turned off the camera. According to some assumptions, the cause of suicide was heart problems.[18][19]
On September 13, 2021, in Zelenograd, during a live broadcast, a 17-year-old girl committed suicide while listening to the song "Numbers[ru]" by the singer LSP[ru]. Footage that appeared online shows the girl sitting on the edge of a balcony railing listening to the song, then falling down. On September 19, her act was repeated by a 19-year-old young man from Krasnodar, who also listened to this song before committing suicide.[20] After the incident, the singer members decided to remove the song from streaming platforms.[21] When searching for the song, TikTok began redirecting users to a psychological help hotline and providing recommendations on how to cope during difficult times.[22]
On July 15, 1974, American television journalist Christine Chubbuck committed suicide during a live television broadcast.[citation needed]
On August 31, 2020, 33-year-old American Ronnie McNutt committed suicide during a Facebook Live broadcast. This incident became one of the most widely discussed cases of livestreamed suicide in the media. After this incident, public and researcher attention focused on the work of platform moderation and how videos are distributed further.[23][24][25]
In United Kingdom
On March 21, 2007, Kevin Neil Witrick, a British electrical engineer, committed suicide by hanging himself in an online chat room.[26]
↑ Calvo, Serena; Carrasco, Juan Pablo; Conde-Pumpido, Celia; Esteve, Jose; Aguilar, Eduardo Jesús (2024-06-05). "Does suicide contagion (Werther effect) take place in response to social media? A systematic review". Spanish Journal of Psychiatry and Mental Health (in Spanish): S2950–2853(24)00032–2. doi:10.1016/j.sjpmh.2024.05.003. ISSN2950-2853. PMID38848950.
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