M’sia Teenager Committed Suicide After People Voted for Her to ‘Die’ On Instagram

There is no reason why any teen or anyone for that matter should be committing suicide.

Reading about suicide always leaves me with a sense of guilt and fear. I often ask myself if there could be anyone around me who are struggling with suicidal thoughts.

Decide My Day

We’re all familiar with IG-polls like “Decide my day”, or “control my life”. It’s all fun and games and most times, people don’t think twice about putting their 2-cents in.

Eat Char Kway Teow or Spicy Wings? Spicy Wings.

Drink water or tahan the pain? Tahan lah, of course.

But what happens if you indirectly caused the death of somebody?

Here’s what happened.

Malaysian teen commits suicide after IG poll 

On 13 May, 16-year-old teen, Davia Emelia committed suicide from her home in Batu Kara New Township.

At 3 pm, she posted an IG story asking her followers to choose whether she should “D or L”.

What she was actually asking was whether she should Die or Live. It is reported that 69% of respondents voted for D. This resulted in her eventual decision to jump from her home.

A Facebook post suggests that she was growing weary of life. Emelia said “WANNA QUIT F*KING LIFE, I’M TIRED”.

The Sarawak Tribune revealed that Emelia could have been struggling to adapt to life after the divorce and remarriage of her parents.

Media and suicide 

It is important that we do not glorify suicide.

The Netflix TV show 13 Reasons Why has been under fire for the way that it portrays suicide. A report showed that the number of suicide amongst teens increased after the show was aired.

It is imperative to think about how we, as a community, can ensure that the mental health of teens are protected even as they are exposed to all sorts of things on the internet.

If you have suicidal thoughts 

If you are reading this and you have suicidal thoughts, I want you to know that you are precious and I pray, that you will not take your own life.

I know that the thoughts inside your head can be overwhelming at times. You’ve tried various ways to deal with it and you feel helpless. The pressures of life can get overwhelming when you are expected to fit into a certain mould.

However! Happiness can be defined in so many ways and I believe that while there may be a pain in the night, a new joy comes every morning.

If you are hurting, please, talk to someone. If you do not feel like talking to friends, you can call help hotlines.

If you have a friend with suicidal thoughts

I am thankful for the Internet in this day and age. This is because it helps us keep tabs on people who may be struggling with life.

I would like to encourage my readers to drop a simple text to anyone you see struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts. This could help them to know that there are people around them who still care about them.

You can read up on suicide to understand your friend better!

Be Honest

If you are concerned about someone, there is no need to beat around the bush. Ask them directly if they plan to commit suicide, if they have a concrete plan, then you need to seek professional help immediately.

You can call a Family Service Centre to activate the necessary resources to help this friend. You can rest assured that the social workers will treat your friend with respect and dignity.

Some people may be afraid of breaking the trust of the person who wants to commit suicide by reporting their intentions to the relevant authorities. However, think about the well being of the person. It is better to have the person alive than dead before their time is up.

I know that it can be intimidating to deal with someone who is depressed. You do not have to take all the responsibility. You can walk through this difficult season with your friend while they seek professional help.