Young TikTok star commits suicide: What is so gravely wrong with our “suicide is not an option” attitude
By Lipi Upadhyay
It has been 12 days since actor par brilliance Sushant Singh Rajput died by suicide. Even though his untimely death opened a flood gate of speculations and conspiracies, it also shed light on the schooling we still need as a society in the matters of mental health conditions. When the MS Dhoni actor passed away, the discussion of allocating equal importance to mental illnesses and the ‘need’ for kindness and compassion started taking place on every social media platform. Sadly, after the news of death by suicide of a 16-year-old TikTok star yesterday, the general public reaction connotes that we are back to square one.
The death of a star...
The talented 16-year-old TikTok star had more than 1 million followers on the video-sharing social networking app TikTok and close to 2 lacs followers on her official Instagram account. She enjoyed a huge following on various social media platforms and had gained immense popularity due to her dance videos. Her sudden demise has shocked everyone to the very core and police has been trying to figure out the reason behind this extreme step by talking to her family members, close friends and school authorities.
The need to overhaul the victim-blaming mentality
Even as netizens expressed their heartfelt condolences over the lost young life, the comment section was filled with people expressing that ‘suicide is not an option’ and ‘she was not the only one who was suffering’. Infact, one social media user went as far as saying that people should not make a “joke” out of dying by suicide at such a young age. There were plenty of other derogatory comments mocking her death by linking it to her profession as a TikTok star, which is truly beyond our comprehension.
Is the victim not already suffering enough?
The victim shaming mentality starting from “Tumhari age hi kya thi”, “You should have thought about your parents” to “You did not have any real problems” is the exact same reason why people often choose to suffer in silence. We live in a world, where a dead person is still bashed for choosing to die by suicide because she was not “suffering” enough.
Let’s take the first step towards kindness
The bottom line is, we need to stop with the preaching about what we think is the “right criteria” to suffer from mental health conditions or when people chose to die by suicide. The same way, you will not ask someone who has a fracture to get it all together and soldier on, it is equally important to understand the hopelessness that sets in with mental illnesses. Instead of bashing and shaming the victim, the need of the hour is to encourage the person to seek professional help whenever the need comes. As an individual, you also need to diligently check on those close to you and help them defeat any demons they may be battling on their own. Most of all, the next time you think of schooling someone on why suicide is a cowardly act, remember you just might be pushing someone close to you further down the rabbit hole.