Reuters
- A 16-year-old Malaysian girl reportedly died by suicide after sharing an Instagram poll asking her followers to help her "choose D/L," according to a report from the Guardian.
- As many as 69% of her followers voted for "D," meaning death, according to local police in Malaysia’s Padawan district.
- Local officials have questioned whether the people who voted in the poll could be culpable in her death. Abetting the suicide of a minor is a crime in Malaysia and those found guilty can face the death penalty or up to 20 years in prison.
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A 16-year-old Instagram user in Malaysia reportedly died by suicide after sharing an Instagram poll asking her followers to help her choose life or death, according to a report from the Guardian.
According to local police in Mayalsia’s Padawan district, more than 69% of the girl’s followers voted for her to kill herself. The teen reportedly posted the poll to Instagram at about 3 p.m. on May 13 with a message reading, "Really Important, Help Me Choose D/L."
About five hours later, she was found dead, MalayMail reports.
Local officials have questioned whether the people who voted in the poll could be culpable in her death. Abetting the suicide of a minor is a crime in Malaysia and those found guilty can face the death penalty or up to 20 years in prison.
Ramkarpal Singh, a lawyer and member of Malaysia’s parliament, requested that authorities investigate the circumstances leading to the teen’s death.
"Would the girl still be alive today if the majority of netizens on her Instagram account discouraged her from taking her own life?" he said in a statement to Reuters. "Would she have heeded the advice of netizens to seek professional help had they done so?"
Ching Yee Wong, head of communications for Instagram APAC, provided the following statement to Business Insider in response to the 16-year-old’s death:
"Our thoughts and prayers are with this young woman’s family. We have a deep responsibility to make sure people using Instagram feel safe and supported. As part of our own efforts, we urge everyone to use our reporting tools and to contact emergency services if they see any behavior that puts people’s safety at risk."
Instagram adopted new safety measures in February to better protect young users on the platform. Graphic images of self-harm are systematically removed, and non-graphic self-ham content is now subject to a sensitivity screen that blurs the post before it is shown.
Instagram users found to be posting self-harm or suicide-related content are referred to a local support group or suicide hotline. For Malaysia, the social media platform refers users to Befrienders KL. Instagram provides a full list of global suicide prevention partners on its website.
Many of Instagram’s policy changes were made in response to the suicide death of Molly Russell, a British 14-year-old who died in 2017. In the months following Russell’s suicide, her family found that she had been following multiple Instagram accounts depicting images of suicide and self-harm. The discovery led her father, Ian, to claim that Instagram "helped kill my daughter."
While social media can offer teens a sense of community and personal voice, it can also impact their mental well-being. Parents are encouraged to monitor their children’s use of social media, and all social media users should feel motivated to report potentially harmful and violent posts they find, regardless of what platform they use.
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Source: Business Insider – kwebb@businessinsider.com (Kevin Webb)