There have been at least three live-streamed suicides in the past month, two by teenage girls. And while suicide isn’t a new concern, the ability to live-stream the act – and therefore encourage copycat behavior – is an issue that experts fear could grow, especially among young adults.
One of the earliest cases of a live-streamed suicide was Abraham Biggs in 2008. The 19-year-old Florida teen had posted multiple times on an online body-building message board that he was planning to kill himself. Eventually, he linked to a live-stream site called Justin.tv, where the video showed him overdosing on prescription pills.
The psychology behind a public suicide, such as live-streaming, isn’t straightforward, Ramsland said. Just like there are myriad reasons for suicide, reasons for live-streaming suicide also vary....