Padmanathan believes that “people have a right to talk about their own experiences in their own words”-yet right now it’s unclear how many TikTokers use “unalive” out of personal preference, and how many would drop the word if they didn’t have to worry about censorship. TikTok did not respond to a request for comment, but its official blog explains, “While we don’t allow content that promotes, glorifies, or normalizes suicide, self-harm, or eating disorders, we do support people who choose to share their experiences to raise awareness, help others who might be struggling, and find support among our community.” It is undoubtedly a difficult balance. “You could say that forbidding the word ‘suicide’ sends a meta-message that suicide is so terrible as to be unmentionable,” she says.
But she often scrutinizes the “meta-message” of words-a meaning that isn’t in the word itself but can be determined from the way the words are said, or their context. Tannen says not every alternative wording for “suicide” is stigmatizing-she believes “taking one’s own life” is still explicit enough to avoid stigma. She cites the term “pro-choice”: “Ostensibly it means support for abortion rights, but by avoiding the word ‘abortion’ it helps to stigmatize it,” she says. Yet Deborah Tannen, a professor of linguistics at Georgetown University, expresses concern when asked about “unalive.” “Coming up with alternate or roundabout ways to say things, in order to avoid saying them outright, sends a message that the meaning is unsayable,” Tannen says. Padmanathan says it’s not clear-cut whether euphemisms perpetuate stigma-in her 2019 study, some participants felt euphemisms trivialized suicide, while others felt they were preferable in certain contexts. Without controlled studies, it’s impossible to know the effect “unalive” has on people accessing resources. Such research is crucial because, Padmanathan notes, the words we use can determine whether or not people seek help for their issues. The study found that people were more likely to subsequently use the word they had read, and that people’s attitudes to the suicides they read about did differ depending on the word in the piece. Some of the reports included the neutral German term “Suizid” (suicide), while others used the more problematic terms “Freitod” (free death) and “Selbstmord” (self-murder). The study-led by a communication scientist at the University of Munich-presented participants with news reports about suicide which were identical except for the word used to describe suicide itself. But users have also come to fear elusive content moderation filters that seemingly suppress or remove videos discussing death, suicide, or self-harm. It’s a well-intentioned policy, initiated in September 2021, a year after a graphic video of a suicide spread across the app. Though #suicideprevention is a frequently used tag on the app, the hashtags #suicide and #suicideawareness do not exist-if you search for them, TikTok pulls up the number for a local crisis helpline. The hashtag #unalivemeplease has 9.2 million views on TikTok #unaliving has 6.6 million #unaliveawareness has an additional 2.2 million. Yet Williams does not utter the word “suicide” to her front-facing camera, or type it in her captions, for fear the TikTok algorithm will censor or remove her content. Some of these clips are lighthearted, others far more serious. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the 26-year-old student from Berkshire, England, has posted multiple videos about suicidal ideation and her stay in a psychiatric ward. Kayla Williams has never said the word “suicide” on TikTok, even though she uses the platform to discuss mental health issues with her 80,000 followers.
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