Adolescent mental health is a rapidly evolving area of study that has yet to be truly understood, and one of the newest topics of discussion is digital self harm. Because digital self harm has yet to be researched extensively, it’s likely that educators aren’t familiar with the ins and outs of this behavior.
That’s why we’re putting digital self harm under the microscope — to help school districts understand the phenomenon and what they can do to help. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the basics and highlight some strategies you can use to detect and prevent self harming behavior of all shapes and sizes.
Before getting ahead of ourselves, let’s review self harming behavior in general, which can be broken down into two types:
According to the Cleveland Clinic, self harm is the act of hurting yourself, either physically or emotionally, on purpose. This can include:
Although linked to suicide, the act of traditional self harm isn’t necessarily intended to end someone’s life — though they may still have suicidal thoughts. Rather than a suicide attempt, adolescents hurt themselves as a means of confronting (or avoiding) painful emotions.
As opposed to healthy coping mechanisms, kids inflict physical and emotional harm on themselves to temporarily free themselves of whatever negative feelings they’re experiencing. To a young person, this short-term relief may seem easier to deal with than opening up to a parent, loved one, or trusted adult.
Digital self harm — sometimes called cyber self harm — is a relatively new term. To explain, let’s take a closer look at what this type of self harming behavior is about.
At its simplest, digital self harm refers to the practice of targeting oneself with hurtful content over the internet. In other words, it’s essentially self-directed online bullying. Here are a few examples of such behavior:
In any case, digital self harm typically occurs when adolescents create anonymous accounts to bully themselves online. The causes and impacts of this self harm behavior are still under debate, but one recent study sheds light on its growing prevalence.
According to data collected from teens in 2019, 10% of surveyed middle and high school students engaged in some form of digital self harm in the past year, and 6% had done so in the past month. Ryan Meldrum, PHD — lead researcher of the study — warns readers against underestimating those figures.
“Some people may look at a prevalence rate of 10% and feel as though this is a small percentage, but when you aggregate that up to a district, state, or national level, tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of K-12 students are likely engaging in digital self harm,” Meldrum told Verywell. “There is a need to better acknowledge this behavior so that steps can start to be taken to address it or, preferably, find ways to prevent its occurrence in the first place.”
Meldrum also points out that prevalence rates have likely increased in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Considering that 70% of K-12 schools have seen an increase in students requesting mental health services since March 2020, the data seems to support his hypothesis.
In truth, the causes of cyber self harm are still not fully understood. However, a recent study hypothesizes three potential motivators:
Overall, research indicates that about 13-18% of youth engage in some type of self harm, and 6% of American middle and high school students have explicitly engaged in digital self harm behavior.
Ultimately, digital self harm is more common in kids that have an underlying mental health issue, such as depression, anxiety, or an eating disorder. Overwhelmed by painful emotions, students who experience these conditions are more likely to self-inflict emotional harm, either physically or digitally.
There’s also a notable link to cyberbullying victimization. In fact, youth who’ve been cyberbullied are 12 times as likely to have bullied themselves online.
Scientists have consistently shown a significant connection between self harm and negative health outcomes. In many cases, without intervention, students can experience health problems as a young adult and well into the future.
For example, experts find that digital self harm puts teens at greater risk of experiencing:
In fact, according to a July 2022 study, teens who self harm online are 5-7 times more likely to experience suicidal thoughts, and are 9-15 times more likely to make a suicide attempt.
Clearly, this is an immense problem that schools must take seriously. Not sure where to start? Keep reading for a few tips and tricks.
Kids are shaped by their environment, and there are few places as formative as where they go to school. So, it’s on you and your district to ensure your climate is as positive, supportive, and proactive as can be — especially when it comes to mental health.
Here are a few best practices you can implement to get the ball rolling in the right direction:
To that last point, it’s exceptionally difficult for schools to know what’s floating around their cloud domain. Without visibility, certain safety signals would go undetected. Consequently, depressive symptoms or thoughts of suicide may fall through the cracks.
Fortunately, that’s why schools use Cloud Monitor. With a solution like ours, you can comb through content in Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 for signs of self harm, bullying, and other potential risks. The platform automatically alerts school security when a threat is detected, such as a student discussing violence against themselves or others.
When student mental health and physical well-being are involved, every second counts. And although digital self harm is a relatively new phenomenon, it’s still important to get ahead of the curve and take action. With ManagedMethods at your side, you’re empowered by an invaluable advantage.
Learn more about self harm detection or request a free demo today to get started.