Self-Harm: Know the Codes

Self-harm is another destructive behavior for which parents should keep a lookout. These are acts like cutting and burning, which may be a manifestation of severe stress, depression or anxiety. Sites and social media posts glorifying this concept are widely present.

This has led researchers to try to uncover just what terms kids are using to discuss acts of self-harm. According to Reuters, one such study confirmed the belief that technology is helping kids to bond over these behaviors. 

“The online communities that develop around these hashtags can draw in adolescents and provide them a strong sense of belonging and support that is centered on these unhealthy behaviors,” says lead study author Dr. Megan Moreno, a specialist in adolescent medicine at the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Research Institute. “This can make recovery from these behaviors more challenging.”

According to Reuters, researchers initially used the term #selfharmmm to find social media posts on Instagram that revolved around concerning habits like these. Next, the search results related to this hashtag were used to find more hashtags concerning these types of acts. Some of these included: #blithe, #MySecretFamily and #SecretSociety123. 

The team learned that the term #cat refers to cutting. In fact, this term was found to have more than 44 million search results in 2014. This number grew to 56 million the next year. The initial term #selfharmmm also grew. Initially, it was found to have 1.7 million results in 2014. However, this number grew to over 2.4 million search results the following year.