<p>I don’t meant to suggest that kids are posting outrageous stuff jsut to get attention – the kids we “know” on tumblr explore images, words and ideas that are not mainstream but rather challenging and sometimes upsetting. For them, it is artistic expression and an opportunity to interact with peers who are similalry drawn to such expression. It is a way to expand beyond the physical limits of where they live. While some may post unsettling images or words, the kids we know are not doing those things, they are creating a “blog” which is their artistic expression and which attracts followers who share those interests. </p>
<p>Is there the potential for kids to be drawn outside their own comfort zone? Yes, but as an adult, I cannot control (anymore) my children’s entire universe. I have to settle for knowing that kids have an outlet and are not bottling stuff up.</p>
<p>There’s whole swaths of the internet where what people talk about seem like ridiculous things where it’s very likely 99% of the posting population are just living out various sorts of fantasies. If you want a good example (though it’s one of the “once you see it you can’t unsee it” varieties) read some forums dedicated to Bugchasing and Gifting.</p>
<p>Some teen cutters I’ve known said that the pain of the cutting is so intense that it helps them block out the psychic pain they’re experiencing.
One boy was so distant/sad/apathetic that he did it just to ‘feel something’.
No suicidal ideation observed in these particular children.</p>
<p>Maybe parents will “get it” if one quotes Shakespeare:</p>
<p>“But where the greater malady is fixed,
The lesser is scarce felt.
Thou’dst shun a bear
But if thy flight lay toward the raging sea,
Thou’dst meet the bear i’ the mouth.
When the mind’s free,
The body’s delicate:
the tempest in my mind
Doth from my senses take all feeling else.” (King Lear)</p>