‘Have You Eaten? Then Commit Suicide’ The Reality of Extreme Expressions Among Teenagers

As of 11 a.m. on the 9th, searching for '#자살각' or '#자살충동' on the social networking service (SNS) Instagram shows related items such as 'exam period,' 'high school,' 'born in 1999,' and 'math academy.' Source=Instagram capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don, Intern Reporter Jeon Geun-hwi] Among teenagers, the use of extreme language such as ‘suicide’ and ‘let's die’ is spreading like a trend. With a series of extreme choices by celebrities and the spread of unfiltered words on social networking services (SNS), there is criticism that people have become desensitized to extreme expressions.

Kim Min-ki (18) recently added the hashtag 'suicide angle (recommending suicide)' to his SNS post. This was because he has to join the military in two years. He said, “It’s a word thrown out like a joke without much meaning.”

In fact, the expressions exchanged among teenagers are at a serious level. In every negative situation encountered in daily life, such as poor test scores, failed diets, or changes in appearance, the expression ‘suicide’ is used casually. Although portal sites and SNS restrict searches for such words, thorough management is not being carried out. It is common for the words to be exposed as is when emoticons are added or spacing is altered.

Similarly, in communities for teenagers, when entering words like ‘suicide’ or ‘I want to die,’ numerous stories are searched. Among these, serious content is very rare, and most are lighthearted posts made in jest. Kim Ji-yeon (20), who works part-time at a restaurant, often hears such expressions around her. She said, “It seems like people use the expression ‘I want to die’ just as we express frustration by saying ‘I think I’m going to get cancer.’”

This kind of language use is analyzed to be heavily influenced by content that teenagers mainly access on YouTube or SNS. Kim Min-ki said, “I usually watch comedian or daily life videos with friends, and if there is a funny expression in those videos, we tend to imitate it.”

Meanwhile, according to Statistics Korea, last year the suicide rate in South Korea was 5.9 per 100,000 for teenagers, 19.2 for people in their 20s, and 26.9 for those in their 30s. Among these, suicide was the leading cause of death for people in their teens to 30s. In particular, the suicide rates for teenagers and people in their 20s increased by 2.7% and 9.6%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.