Discussion If people saw you browsing this site, do you think they would really care or say anything?

[Anxieyote]

I think all of us kind of imagine the worst case scenario in our head. The situation where somebody at the coffee shop sees the website you're browsing, spits out their coffee and yells, "What the fuck website are you on right now?? Look at this guy, he's talking to suicidal people!!"

It's unlikely that it's ever actually happened how I described, but my anxiety-riddled brain jumps to that conclusion whenever I'm out in public.

Based on my experiences with people, I don't know if they're really paying that close attention. There are people who come into the coffee shop where I work at everyday, and I've never once glanced at their computer screens to see what they're looking at because I just assume they're studying. It's also too far away to see from behind the counter, so I don't even bother snooping.

And to be honest, if I saw somebody looking at suicide methods on their laptop in public, I'd raise my eyebrows a little and be like, "Wow". But even then, I'm not certain why they're on the website—they could be doing research for a college paper or something. I also don't want to start a conversation with a random stranger, so I'm not going to say anything anyway.

Outside of family, who else is really going to give a shit? A lot of us are suicidal in the first place because of people not giving a shit, so can we assume that most people would just walk on by, say nothing at all, and think nothing of it? And is there anything anybody could realistically do to us if they had a problem with it?

 

[deathismymeaning]

ye honestly i think most people won't really give a shit unless they have some sort of a savior complex, or even if they really care id assume most people might think it'd be out of place to come up to someone for being on here.

 

[Hirokami]

I know for a fact almost no stranger would say anything if I browsed this site in public. They would either have no idea what I'm looking at and think I'm just browsing a normal forum or they would know but would also be too hesitant to say anything. Suicide is taboo and no one feels comfortable bringing up the subject until it actually happens.

Though, by the slight chance someone does try to talk to me about it, I could just say I'm doing research ... Which technically isn't a lie hehe.

 

[massiveblackhole]

I think suicide is way too personal, complicated and taboo of a topic for any random stranger to be comfortable approaching another random stranger about. even if they did see and were concerned what do you even say?

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

I first used to browse SS on my laptop during my university classes right before the pandemic hit. Back then there was an actual incognito mode that changed the logo so it was very welcome. I'm sure people aren't actually going to look at what you're browsing in a public space too much and if they do, strangers would hopefully not be too concerned…

 

[Seiba]

I live in a household with my mother and otherwise both us are home all day. My first attempt years ago went very poorly with her reaction -- screaming at me while I held on the doorway not allowed to speak, being called selfish, people in Africa have it worse, and later being blamed on teenage hormones. Alongside being told I had no reason to kill myself. She would likely threaten with me a psych hospital and remove things from my room despite being in adulthood, as suicide deserves punishment and not understanding. The door is not joking -- falling off the hinges and I have to balance it for it to not fall over on itself. She thankfully has poor eyesight, so despite the big "Sanctionedsuicide" banner just switching over quickly enough is good enough and listening in for foot steps.

 

[Gsvko]

I honestly do not care at all what they do, they can read with me if they want. The only thing I care about is not being prevented, wouldn't like someone I know to realise. I don't mind them causing a scene either, just close the site and give them the "are you an idi*t" look. If I saw someone browsing, hm, idk, maybe just smile if we make eye contact now. Before I'd be interested, either wouldn't say anything because of boundaries, or I'd shoot a shot to start some convo that's not related to what I've seen.
But majority of people dc.

 

[TheUncommon]

I lurked on this site in the corner of a cafeteria in college back in 2019. Maybe it was reckless of me. But it's not like I've regularly left the house ever since early 2020.
What were they going to do about it, anyway...

 

[Depressed Cat]

In public places, people are likely to say nothing. They would either not notice or pretend not to notice or just not care.

Moreover, this is a legitimate forum and not a site for dying. Not everyone who visits this site will CTB. This is a forum for people feeling suicidal to hang out on, and we have a recovery section as well.

This is not a site where the despairing log on and learn ways to die, as was portrayed by the filthy NYT. As if no one knows ways of dying. Heck, even children know multiple ways to die.

 

[Feeding Pigeons]

lol no

 

[rationaldeath]

She thankfully has poor eyesight, so despite the big "Sanctionedsuicide" banner just switching over quickly enough is good enough and listening in for foot steps.

If you didn't already know there's actually a way to hide the logo in the settings under "preferences".

 

[Crazy4u]

I wouldn't open this site if there is someone near me. They won't care but I like to hide my pain, weaknesses, feelings,....etc. Unlike many members here, noone in real life knows about my intent to ctb. Only SS members know

 

[little helpers]

two of my friends know I'm on this site. what one said was, "well, I'm glad 'that' (by which he was referring to r/SuicideWatch and shit) wasn't the type of 'help' you asked for." the other went on to register here. both are not suicidal as far as I know.

just FYI, I'm very open to discussing suicide offline and many have confided in me on this matter. they know I'm someone they can turn to. so I have good reasons to believe they're not struggling with suicidality at least as of now.

I think a random stranger wouldn't really give a fuck. they'd prolly just look away uncomfortably. I don't think it matters to them. at most a passing thought judging me to be a weirdo. people are distant, after all.

 

[Onthe29th]

If anyone in my personal life knew that I went on this site, that would be a nightmare.

I'm so different from the people around me and they wouldn't understand at all.

 

[FuneralCry]

I would never tell someone that I am suicidal, family members, would not accept and understand my decision. They would selfishly expect me to suffer for decades. Other peoples opinions do not mean anything to me, as it is my life and my decision and it is nothing to do with them. I have the right to exit at a time of my own choosing. In a world where there is so much suffering, suicide should not be so stigmatised. The right to die should be respected.

 

[Sanva]

people would probably say i'm seeking attention or something. there was a guy in my home town who used to make posts on instagram about how he wanted to die and how he self harmed and people just laughed about it. i think to neurotypicals wanting to die is so incomprehensible that they think you're just messing around, unless you actually kill yourself.
if my family found out i was on here they'd put me in a psych ward but that's about it.

 

[tieiwi]

If it's strangers then I don't really care. I don't want my family to know because then they'll never shut up about it…I can already hear the insults that would be thrown at me or passed around behind my back.

 

[charlie_z]

There are 3, maybe 4 people who I feel likely care for me. I'm not sure how they would react. Each of these individuals is very bright, and I think they would either respect my desire to explore this option and not offer much comment, or they would want to enter into a philosophical discussion regarding the moral and ethical issues surrounding the question of self-annihilation. I don't think it would go much further than that.

 

[Anxieyote]

people would probably say i'm seeking attention or something. there was a guy in my home town who used to make posts on instagram about how he wanted to die and how he self harmed and people just laughed about it. i think to neurotypicals wanting to die is so incomprehensible that they think you're just messing around, unless you actually kill yourself.
if my family found out i was on here they'd put me in a psych ward but that's about it.

This is a good point. I hear the phrase, "If this happened, I think I would literally kill myself." among the 16-25 year old population quite often. Even saying, "I wanna die" is seen is a joke, and an expression of frustration.

Not to mention younger people who sometimes use suicide as a cry for attention. An 18-year-old coworker of mine told my manager "it will be your fault if I kill myself!!" as a way to create some excitement and drama.

This means that there's probably a lot of people who know others who have threatened to commit suicide without actually meaning it—similar to how people claim to have certain disorders on social media for attention.

So if you told someone, "I want to die." they might respond with "Haha, yeah me too." and not take it very seriously. Or even if you just made general statements like "life sucks", most people would just nod their heads and agree with you.

 

[InezSerrano]

I think all of us kind of imagine the worst case scenario in our head. The situation where somebody at the coffee shop sees the website you're browsing, spits out their coffee and yells, "What the fuck website are you on right now?? Look at this guy, he's talking to suicidal people!!"

It's unlikely that it's ever actually happened how I described, but my anxiety-riddled brain jumps to that conclusion whenever I'm out in public.

Based on my experiences with people, I don't know if they're really paying that close attention. There are people who come into the coffee shop where I work at everyday, and I've never once glanced at their computer screens to see what they're looking at because I just assume they're studying. It's also too far away to see from behind the counter, so I don't even bother snooping.

And to be honest, if I saw somebody looking at suicide methods on their laptop in public, I'd raise my eyebrows a little and be like, "Wow". But even then, I'm not certain why they're on the website—they could be doing research for a college paper or something. I also don't want to start a conversation with a random stranger, so I'm not going to say anything anyway.

Outside of family, who else is really going to give a shit? A lot of us are suicidal in the first place because of people not giving a shit, so can we assume that most people would just walk on by, say nothing at all, and think nothing of it? And is there anything anybody could realistically do to us if they had a problem with it?

Most people would just see random words they cannot read, no? Unless they are right next to you? It's not some big "I AM SUICIDAL" thing flashing on your screen... Maybe people are more eagle eyed than I expect tho...

 

[ClownMe]

Probably not, it isnt super well known about in Australia from what ive seen, so if someone saw me browsing on here then they probably wouldn't even know what it is.

 

[Versailles]

Surely they will not say anything because where I am, almost nobody knows English

 

[TheBestUsernameEver]

I think most people face a strange internal dichotomy whenever they face another person's su***de:
On one hand they want to try to help as they don't want to be left with the guilt of having done nothing if the person does indeed complete.
On the other, they want to distance themselves from the entire situation as a means of protecting themselves from emotional hurt.

 

[8AEM]

Most people don't care enough to act, and I'm glad about that.

 

[orange]

Assuming they knew the website I think they would most likely laugh at me for browsing it in public and tell the story to their mates later lmao

 

[Anxieyote]

Assuming they knew the website I think they would most likely laugh at me for browsing it in public and tell the story to their mates later lmao

I think that is a likely scenario too. I think 80% of people would not care to look what you're browsing, but a good 20% would at least take a mental note of it and tell their friends later as a funny story.

 

[Somber]

If people recognize the site chances are they have an account themselves.

 

[Caspers]

I go on the bus and browse on here during that time, but unless they know what SS means, it's unlikely they'd know what I'm looking at. I sometimes browse when I'm in the living room with my parents. I just turn down the screen a lot and lean backwards, they have no idea.

 

[myopybyproxy]

Average person - I don't know how they would react and I don't give a shit.
Family or friends - they probably would freak out and try to get me sectioned again.

 

[Messgram]

i don't like people I know personally to be aware of my mental ilnesess- especially depression. It makes me feel vulnerable. I take great care to avoid getting caught browsing here.