Anyone else thinks this place is full of kids?

[halleyscomet]

Speaking of, I've just seen a post from a user stating they are 17. I feel so awful for reporting them as they are trying to seek support, but it has to be done.

 

[Coconut blue]

I know what ED forum you're probably talking about. I've been on there for 8 years under different accounts, and I'm in my early-mid 20s. I still see some really young kids on there nowadays, and I was probably one of the young kids when I first joined. I was on Tieba as well, which is basically the Chinese version of Reddit. I learned how to induce vomiting using a tube, through the ED forum on that website. Nowadays there's another Chinese social media website called Little Red Book and there are no age restrictions on there. I see 10, 11, 12 year old kids post openly about their eating disorders on there. The internet really is a double edged sword.

im also on the chinese internet a lot so i agree. the scene is so pro ed and the authorities dont do anything about it. im also a tube user. the efforts of journalists to "expose" this community to the public is definitely doing a lot to encourage desperate ppl to start this addictive method (i only knew about using a tube thanks to their reporting lmao)

 

[BooGirl]

I sincerely hope not. A website like this runs on trust, and anyone who lies about their age violates the trust of everyone they interact with on here. And more materially, they open up the site to greater attacks. I haven't seen anything like that very much, though.

 

[astonishedturnip]

I hear you. Maybe I have no right to say that since my account is fairly new, but since this is a good resource, the last thing it needs is to get slapped with yet another damaging headline, this time being "THE SITE THAT HELPS YOUR 13-YEAR-OLD END THEIR LIFE" with some screeds and nonsense about how we encourage CTB and discourage any kind of hope or recovery. I've reported obvious fetish content and posts where the OP straight-up admitted to being a minor.

To your other point... I agree. My mind went to bad places when I was in high school, junior high, and even middle school. But the dread of "no way out" when you are 15 is so much different and (in most cases) fixable and optimistic for recovery than when you are 45. Which isn't to say illness, abuse, trauma, etc. cannot strike an under-18, but when your brain is still basically gray silly putty, you still have a pretty great shot at putting the pieces back together.

I also don't want to see this turn into r/SuicideWatch part 2, eugh. It might come off as cruel, but I can't help but cringe when I read a bunch of "I'm 13 and failed my algebra test, just put 20 Tums in a blender and chugged it, guess this is my last post, sorry mom" posts. I hate knowing that a kid is in that headspace and I know SaSu hates posts about comparative suffering but it still gets me like

 

[Alexei_Kirillov]

I also don't want to see this turn into r/SuicideWatch part 2, eugh. It might come off as cruel, but I can't help but cringe when I read a bunch of "I'm 13 and failed my algebra test, just put 20 Tums in a blender and chugged it, guess this is my last post, sorry mom" posts. I hate knowing that a kid is in that headspace and I know SaSu hates posts about comparative suffering but it still gets me like

Oh god it's been years since I've regularly browsed r/SuicideWatch for that very reason, like I don't mean to demean the suffering of teenagers, but man, sometimes...

 

[Lady Laudanum]

im also on the chinese internet a lot so i agree. the scene is so pro ed and the authorities dont do anything about it. im also a tube user. the efforts of journalists to "expose" this community to the public is definitely doing a lot to encourage desperate ppl to start this addictive method (i only knew about using a tube thanks to their reporting lmao)

I actually participated in the movement to get tubes meant for purging banned from being listed on Taobao, like 5 years ago. Sellers on Taobao are no longer allowed to explicitly say that the tubes are for purging, even though the tubes themselves can't be banned. Looking back on it, I'm worried that I might have indirectly caused harm to someone by participating in that movement.

 

[fancifulfate]

It sucks but kids end up lying about their age all over the internet. Report when you think someone is an actual minor. To me 18-20 year olds seem like total kids even though I'm not even 30 yet lol.

 

[Coconut blue]

I actually participated in the movement to get tubes meant for purging banned from being listed on Taobao, like 5 years ago. Sellers on Taobao are no longer allowed to explicitly say that the tubes are for purging, even though the tubes themselves can't be banned. Looking back on it, I'm worried that I might have indirectly caused harm to someone by participating in that movement.

hmm no i dont think banning itself is harmful. i just mean the way the media broadcasts this method all over the place is doing more harm than good because its a kind of reverse advertising (?) the better thing to do would prob be banning them but not making it a public announcement or headline

 

[Lady Laudanum]

hmm no i dont think banning itself is harmful. i just mean the way the media broadcasts this method all over the place is doing more harm than good because its a kind of reverse advertising (?) the better thing to do would prob be banning them but not making it a public announcement or headline

The fact that purging tubes were banned from being sold on Taobao was not announced publicly, as far as I know. However, I'm sure that the people who are already using tubes continue to buy them from suppliers that sell aquarium equipment.

 

[Coconut blue]

The fact that purging tubes were banned from being sold on Taobao was not announced publicly, as far as I know. However, I'm sure that the people who are already using tubes continue to buy them from suppliers that sell aquarium equipment.

if you search "purging tubes" on baidu or some other chinese platform you can see many news articles about it. the earliest ones are from years back but they continue to pop in and out of the news. ive not come across reports on the ban itself but many articles post pictures of the tubes on taobao or just "teach" the public about the existence of the tube method. i was part of one ed wechat groupchat that a journalist joined undercover for their story, and the article they published included screenshots of members' messages without their consent. i would say the problem is a lack of ethical standards in the journalism industry, but tbh many journalists are probably deluded by their self-righteous savior mindset into believing they're helping us/others vulnerable to eds by exposing the public to ed behavior

 

[acephale]

it's cynical that a suicide site has a minimum age restriction as if suicide is rational decision. I think they forbid teens from joining in order to protect themselves from legal consequences.

 

[BooGirl]

it's cynical that a suicide site has a minimum age restriction as if suicide is rational decision. I think they forbid teens from joining in order to protect themselves from legal consequences.

I mean, yeah. But that's in everyone here's interest: we don't want this site shut down.

 

[thepiecessatup]

For a while now I've been really wary of more and more underage teens being active on this website. Of course, I have absolutely no way to prove it, but it's easy to spot hints and have suspicions. Not to bring up the amount of people I've seen slipping out things like ''I can't get _ I'm a minor'', ''I'm only in highschool'' etc. I don't mean to invalidate teens for their idealizations as I felt the same way at their age but I can't help but feel worried. Not only they have a yet underdeveloped brain, but this site strictly forbids members under the age of 18. I assume this is not the best place Twitter kids can wander around. I know for a fact 16 year old me would've taken for granted anything on here and swing suicide like it's nothing.
Of course, I can't personally do or prove anything regarding this, but I'm curious if other members have such guesses.

I have the same guesses too and try always not to engage with those posts that make me suspicious.

 

[Lady Laudanum]

it's cynical that a suicide site has a minimum age restriction as if suicide is rational decision. I think they forbid teens from joining in order to protect themselves from legal consequences.

Suicide can be a rational decision, for those who are making a fully informed decision while of sound mind, and not doing it on impulse. Whether you would CTB in a certain situation and whether you think it's justified is up to you and only you, but tbh I would refrain from saying that suicide is irrational as a blanket statement.

 

[Argo]

Full of them? Probably not-- but I think everyone is a child on some level. I think the difference between what we stereotype as a child and an adult as pretty small. Lots of very child-like minds run the world, become star athletes, etc. Yes, they seem very mature compared to actual children, but the scope being big is an illusion I think, because we can zoom out a lot more. I like to imagine super advanced and mature aliens that would make even the most mature human look like a 5 year old.

 

[eatantz]

Yikes now I'm scared that people might think of me as underage, when I'm just actually super immature I'm just a very childish 18 year old and the autism doesn't really help

 

[Angst Filled Fuck Up]

Pfft, the entire userbase seems underage when you're as ancient as I am. I'm going to report the lot of you. Nothing will happen to any of you, but it'll give me something to do today.

 

[toro]

man i hope i dont come across like that, feel like i should change my signature to something that clarifies I am an adult I'm just really really annoying. the anime icon does NOT help HAHAHA. most of the kids here are gonna be here from tantacruls video, that's how I found this place, though I was 18 at that point. i personally am on the side of not wanting minors to involve themselves with sasu, it just breaks my heart to think about someone who hasn't even finished school thinking that life is worthless, I cant stop them though and I've never been one to want to babysit, sasu cant really add in an ID verification aspect without it eliminating TONS of us because as much as I love this place, I am NOT giving it pictures of my ID, its clearly already a big target and id rather not risk anything getting caught up in a big leak...

 

[TooConscious]

Minors have signed up before and availed themselves of resources here and there probably is an undetermined number of them either lurking or participating in disguise. Blame Tantacrul for directing a whole school system's worth of them this way.

No one should hesitate to ask for age clarification if there are any doubts though if someone outright says "I'm a minor" then smash that report button and the mods will handle it quickly.

Exactly... 'blame tantacrul' ... It's people wanting or using the site to profit off it because society has made it so that arseholes could get attention spewing drivel and gossip, to outright lies and manipulation into videos... Because enough people are sadly so insecure. I don't usually notice namedropping but this was a clever quote I felt.

 

[Linda]

I don't buy this fiction that people have no sense the day before their 18th birthday, and then the next day they are mature adults. If someone feels they need information about suicide, then age is not particularly relevant. They will get more reliable information here than in many other places, so they are less likely to do something stupid. They will get better advice on how to deal with their problems here than in many other places. They will get better emotional support here than in many other places. All that means they are more likely to remain alive if they make good use of what this site has to offer than if they go elsewhere (or if they have nowhere at all to turn to).
I had formed my views on suicide by the time I was 16. They haven't changed.