“I'm gonna KMS:” From Imminent Risk to Youth Joking about Suicide and Self-Harm via Social Media

Abstract

Recent increases in self-harm and suicide rates among youth have coincided with prevalent social media use; therefore, making these sensitive topics of critical importance to the HCI research community. We analyzed 1,224 direct message conversations (DMs) from 151 young Instagram users (ages 13-21), who engaged in private conversations using self-harm and suicide-related language. We found that youth discussed their personal experiences, including imminent thoughts of suicide and/or self-harm, as well as their past attempts and recovery. They gossiped about others, including complaining about triggering content and coercive threats of self-harm and suicide but also tried to intervene when a friend was in danger. Most of the conversations involved suicide or self-harm language that did not indicate the intent to harm but instead used hyperbolical language or humor. Our results shed light on youth perceptions, norms, and experiences of self-harm and suicide to inform future efforts towards risk detection and prevention.