Long before her suicide attempt last month, Paris Jackson was making loud and clear calls for help: In addition to visible cutting scars on her arms, TMZ learned Paris had an extensive Tumblr page where she reblogged images glorifying self-harm and suicide.
“Several pics show teenagers putting guns in their mouths,” TMZ reports of the page they didn’t link to and we were unable to find. “As for cutting, the pics are graphic and very bloody. In one pic you see a girl with scissors cutting her arm with a caption, ‘I f**king hate myself.'”
As a young girl who has dealt with an incredible amount of emotional pain, it’s no surprise that Paris turned to the Internet for some rare anonymity. However, the danger with Tumblr, Pinterest and other forms of social media is that they often offer unrestricted ground for speech and representation. For young men and women, that can mean feeling like suicide, self-harm, eating disorders or any other kind of harmful behavior is actually socially acceptable or “cool.”
As early as 2001, Yahoo! and other search engines stopped linking to pro-eating disorder sites. Last year, Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram announced they would not return search results for certain keywords, such as “thinspo” and “self-harm.”
At the time, Tumblr released a statement about their new policies: “People being people, though, that means that Tumblr sometimes gets used for things that are just wrong. We are deeply committed to supporting and defending our users’ freedom of speech, but we do draw some limits.”
Still, there are loopholes that aren’t very cleverly disguised. For example, when users search for “self harm,” they are directed to a warning and list of resources… As well as glorifying images and mottos.
To be sure, it’s a messy situation. Freedom of speech is one our most closely guarded rights — and by taking any steps to censor speech, social media sites are inviting a whole new wave of criticism. Therein lies to problem: Web sites are ripped apart for allowing the promotion of self-harm, but they would also be ripped apart for categorically banning it.
So far, it seems the best solution is promoting an alternative to the men and women searching for self-harm tips.
In an interview with the New York Times last year, Claire Mysko, manager of Proud2BeMe.org, said her team seeks to create a space where people can connect in positive ways.
“Those who might be attracted to thinspiration content will find a space where they can feel accepted and feel like they are able to talk to others who get it,” she said. “It’s an environment that’s promoting recovery.”
There just need to be more paths to sites such as Proud 2 Be Me and fewer to those like Paris encountered. Parents or guardians should also take censorship upon themselves by monitoring their children’s Internet activities and directing them toward positive, healthy outlets.
