Webcam Suicide of Abraham Biggs on Internet Lasted for Hours

A Florida teenager, Abraham Biggs, committed suicide on a live webcam Wednesday morning. He told people he was going to do it, then took some sleeping pills, lay down on his bed in his Miami home, turned his back on the camera, and went to sleep. When some watchers finally took Biggs seriously and notified the website, Justin.tv, to notify policy, it was too late. Abraham Biggs had died of an overdose.

Members of Biggs' family were infuriated at the indifference of the watchers and the lack of response that resulted in Abraham Biggs death.

It is unknown how many people watched. The website has not divulged those numbers. But some taunted the young man. Some begged him not to do it. However, not one of them notified anyone to check on Biggs for hours.

Rosaling Biggs, Abraham's sister, told the Associated Press that there was twelve hours between the time the Broward University student took the pills and the time police entered the teen's room and covered the still livestreaming webcam. "They got hits, they got viewers, nothing happened for hours," she said. "It didn't have to be."

Justin.tv CEO Michael Seibel issued the statement: "We regret that this has occurred and want to respect the privacy of the broadcaster and his family during this time."

It is unclear if Justin.tv will be held liable for Biggs' death. There is as yet no indication that the website was negligent or contributed to the death of the teenager.

Although he announced and acted out his suicide on a bodybuilding site, Biggs' sister said that her health-conscious brother was not a bodybuilder as had previously been reported.

Many of those watching said they really did not take Biggs seriously. He had threatened to kill himself before. Some of those observing taunted the teen, some encouraged him, some even asked if he thought he had used enough pills to kill himself.

Biggs' family said that Abraham suffered from bipolar disorder.

The National Institute of Health relates that for every suicide, there have been at least 25 attempts on average that preceded the completion. And this does not include the attempts, of course, that are never reported.

Abraham Biggs, as has been noted, had a history of threatening the commission of suicide. Being bipolar, he was subject to bouts of depression. Talking about committing suicide and depression are indicators of an impending suicide attempt.

Males are more likely to actually kill themselves, even though statistically females make more attempts.

But why choose to do the act on the internet? Some believe it to be a reflection of pop culture, that if something does not occur on the internet or on television, it just did not happen or does not count.

But this may be far too simplistic an explanation. For many in today's internet connected world, part of the socialization process is done through computers. For some, it may be the predominant, if not the only, means of interpersonal communication. In this regard, some develop a psychological and emotional dependency on the internet community they have become a part of, looking to it as a system of support, not unlike that of an extended family. Since the desire to belong is one of the greatest motivating forces that control an individual's behavior and suicide attempts are actual attempts to reach out for help, it is possible that Abraham Biggs was depending on his surrogate family to protect him, to show that he mattered, and that he belonged.

He expected the observers to keep him alive.

The observers expected Abraham Biggs to go on living.

Abraham Biggs' tragic death was the unfortunate result of seriously flawed expectations.

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Sources:

Associated Press

Teensuicide.us