Live-streaming your suicide
Understanding the references to livestream suicides online
Trigger warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of suicide and images of it. Under normal circumstances I would never show something graphic like this but as this is literally all over your kids TikTok comments. I find it extremely important to be aware of and understand the gravity of what kids are seeing and how desensitized they are to gore.
Ronnie Mcnutt is a name that will be seared into the brains of millions along with his suicide video from 2020. His video, face, and memory is relevant across different groups. Many times his video is used in the form of a gif as a reaction to a post or video.
In his video, the 33-year-old veteran is seen intoxicated and speaking to his girlfriend. The two get into a disagreement and the calls ends. He says: ""Hey guys, I guess that's it." and shoots himself with a rifle under the chin. Moments after his phone repeatedly rings. The video was widely shared across Facebook and took over 24 hours for it to be removed from the platform.
Image from here
Cain Clark from the San Diego shooting will be long remembered across the internet for his suicide. In the video, blood pours from his mouth while sitting in the drivers seat of his mothers car after attacking a Mosque with Caleb Vasquez. Across TikTok on incel related videos, TCC, white nationalist, and just random videos I have seen the comment with the gif of this. The caption for the gif is “Funny guy spits out fruit punch”. Now, who knows how many people viewing the comment section of a video will see this.
Above is ONE comment section on a singular video with 117 comments, many of them this exact reaction gif. The video is a video of the San Diego perpetrator.
In light of this trend on TikTok, I will be providing some context for specific suicide livestreams that are baked into the online culture across ideologies. It is important we understand what it means when they post an image, video or gif of this person prior to their suicide and what it could be alluding to.
Shuaib "Shuaiby" Aslam, 18, killed himself on livestream in his bedroom in 2018. The video remains relevant because he had blue tarps hung up in his bedroom, shot himself and then his mother rushes in and is screaming. The video is heart wrenching because of the reaction of his mother being captured on stream.
Above is the image style with a rainbow mask and blue tarp in the background used.
Gleb Korablev, 18, shot himself with a shotgun while sitting on a couch in Russia in 2019. The video continued to stream for 2.5 hrs before law enforcement responded and turned it off. This particular video is relevant because of the sheer brutality of the impact from the firearm and the length it was left up after his death.
Still from the video and his find a grave profile
Below are two cases that are culturally relevant but not used as reaction posts
Vika, 17, and Vova, 18, were Ukrainian step-siblings who were adopted. They reportedly fell in love and began using substances together. They were very open about their relationship on social media and in the days prior to their suicide they created a Telegram channel where they live-streamed frequently. They went to Kyiv to die together. The two stood on the ledge of a 24 story apartment high rise complex, kissed, held hands and fell together.
Still from their livestream
Renata Kambolina, 16, posted photos of herself flipping off the camera with the train approaching in the back in 2015. She posted it online with "nya.bye." and then laid down on the train tracks and died. While hers is technically not a livestream, she did photograph herself moments before and is well known and well liked in the TCC.
Photo she uploaded moments before her death
Please be careful if you choose to research these cases further as it will be 100% likely you will be exposed to the video discussed above. I am writing this for you so that you do not have to go and look up the cases. These are faces with cultural relevance online that if you wish to truly understand what a young person is doing online then you must get the references.
If you do stumble across this or recognize any of these images, have a conversation with the kid. Ask them what it means. What happens in the video? How do they feel about it? Do they relate or find it funny? Why do they post it?
This is an opportunity and segue into conversations surrounding exposure and consumption of gore content online. Unfortunately, this is the reality. People are seeing this stuff online regularly. We must talk about it because if we don’t, who will?
Other writings of interest
Please reach out anytime if you have questions or concerns.
All the information in this post is purely informational. Please do not reuse the content without credit to the author.