The dark side of social media

This PSA has been written to address two issues that we have had to deal with recently both of which need to be highlighted for the pain and upset they cause everyone involved.

This post is quite long but it is difficult to explain all the facts in any other way and we would appreciate it if you took five minutes of your day to read it through

1, Faking suicide

Pseudocide ‘The act of faking one’s own death’.

This has happened here a few times since this Amino was created. In most of the cases, the person has made a message or post saying ‘goodbye’ or left some other dramatic message.

Then they come back onto the same later and claim to be a friend or sibling who has some bad news to tell everyone. Perhaps they say the person who has allegedly commit suicide left a list of s or they just happened to find this app on their phone.

They may create multiple s so that they can pretend to be several different people involved in the same situation in order to confuse or make the lie seem more genuine.

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Why do this?

Quite simply for dramatic effect and to be able to come online and look at all the attention they have gained from the messages on their wall or that might have been sent in pm.

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What drives them to do that?

Perhaps they are lonely or feeling low and need the attention to boost their self esteem. Perhaps they are testing a friendship.

Either way, they never stop to think about how this affects the people involved.

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The impact

In every single case we see the friends who believe these lies are extremely upset and will feel helpless. They will blame themselves and question whether they did enough. This can develop into other issues such as not sleeping or eating, simply because someone wanted attention

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How do I spot someone who has done this?

If someone did commit suicide it is extremely unlikely that anyone, whether it is a friend or family member, will come online and tell you. The fact of the matter is that they won’t have access to the persons phone or despite their claims that they do. Even if they did, there would always be Police involved before anything is announced and their parents or carers would be told first.

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What will Clique Amino do about it?

With each case there is usually something that does not add up, something that is suspicious and we have the difficult task of trying to identify if it is genuine or not.

To date, in every case where a friend or family member has come online to report, it has been proven to be fake

With the most recent case, they were found out as they posted pictures of themselves in another amino after they claimed to have commit suicide on here. When we confronted them about it they initially tried to continue the lies further but eventually realised they were caught.

In another case a few years ago, someone faked their suicide and claimed it was someone here that drove them to it. We explained calmly to the person that as the Amino was involved we had an obligation to inform the Police and they quickly owned up.

We will not tolerate Pseudocide in any form

Anyone found to be faking suicide will be banned immediately and reported to TA so that all their s on every Amino will also be banned.

In addition, if we find someone who is helping a friend or covering up what they know to be lies we will also take action against them

What can I do to help?

Firstly and importantly, if you come across this think clearly and calmly. Does it make sense? Is this the type of behaviour they always do? Are they often attention seeking and have they simply found that they need to be more dramatic because of their need for attention?

Please report these cases to us so that we can investigate.

Above all stay calm, you may feel the need to leave messages of love and in their wall, which we would never want to discourage, but before you do so, ask yourself do I know this to be true beyond all doubt or could I simply be feeding the problem?

Clique Amino have decided to implement a policy of not allowing posts about the apparent suicide of others in this Amino because of the effect they have on the community and more importantly because the vast majority of the time they are written about someone who has faked it

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2, Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is behaviour that hurts someone else online.

This can involve spreading rumours, threatening someone or simply pushing someone to give you their coins or become host of a chat by using aggressive and persuasive methods

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Why cyberbully someone?

Perhaps it gives the bully a feeling of dominance over the other, maybe it is because they had a falling out in the past and they want to take their ‘revenge’ or perhaps it is simply because they are bored and get some form of pleasure from upsetting others

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What are the effects?

The person being bullied may develop mental health problems like depression and anxiety, have fewer friends, become extremely wary and suspicious of others and have problems doing well at school or in real life

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Is that what the bully wants to achieve when they do what they do?

Have they stopped to consider the serious impacts of their behaviour?

Have they considered that the victim might already be struggling with issues and that their actions which might seem harmless to them will be the final thing that pushes them over the top?

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What will Clique Amino do about it?

We have a zero tolerance policy to bullies and if someone is found to be consciously bullying someone else in this Amino we will take action, this could be in the form of a strike (and their profile hidden) or a ban.

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What should I do if I am being bullied or if I know someone who is?

Please report it to us. If possible take screenshots of the conversation or whatever method they are using and send them to us together with a link to their profile.

You can find the moderation team by clicking on menu at the bottom of the app and scrolling down to ‘’ or you can go to your chats and click on ‘All ’ at the top.

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Clique Amino will be a safe and happy place for people to come and make friends and become valued community . To do this we will not be tolerating any more online anti social behaviour, bullying or faking suicide

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I would like to finish this post by linking other posts that have previously been written focusing on similar issues that occur in Clique Amino or online in general. I have also linked posts that could help you if you are being affected by this or other matters.

• Tips during quarantine

• The Stay Alive Chat

• Online sexual abuse

• We are human too

• Stop, breathe, think

• For Molly

• How to sleep

• Catfishing

Stay safe and stay well, from Emma and everyone on the moderation team :yellow_heart: