caenanalysis

As some of you might know, mental health is a subject very close to my heart. I've had my own share of experiences with it, and I've worked for two years in a youth group supporting young people struggling with their own mental health problems. It's a sensitive subject, and one which I think needs to be talked about far more than it already is in order to reduce the stigma surrounding it. Saying that, many celebrities have recently spoken openly about their mental health (JK Rowling detailing her battle with depression, for example), as well as events such as World Mental Health Day on October 10th gaining more traction in the media. People of any age can be affected by mental health, but a prominent demographic suffering from depression and anxiety are young people, particularly teenagers. That's why many content creators on YouTube, whose main viewership is made up of teenagers, putting out videos talking about their own struggles can be extremely useful for those suffering - Luke Cutforth, Rebecca Brown, Drew Lynch, Zoe Sugg and Shane Dawson are just a few vocal advocates on the platform. These so-called 'millenial celebrities' use their fame and notability to raise awareness and support for those in need, and I'll admit that I found their videos extremely useful when I was a young, struggling teen myself

That's why when I saw a brief mention on Twitter of a controversial YouTube upload I immediately searched it on several different news sites, hoping and playing the original tweet had been hyperbolic, or just a sick joke. It wasn't.

This is Logan Paul. He's 22 years old, was born in Westlake, Ohio, and has a younger brother called Jake. His rise to fame started on Vine, where in 2015 he was named as the 10th most influential figure on the site, and as of 2017 he has attracted 19.24 million subscribers between his two YouTube channels.

And this is a screenshot from a video released on December 31st, 2017, uploaded as part of a series documenting his trip to Japan with some friends. The group took a trip to the Aokigahara Forest at the base of Mount Fuji, intending to film a video focusing on the 'haunted' aspect of the site, and a short distance into the forest they came across the body of a Japanese man who had apparently hung himself. Though Paul looks to be shocked in the picture above, the group continued filming, making jokes about the situation. A story from the Metro reports:

Japan has 'one of the highest rates of suicide in the developed world', and for something so tragic to be taken lightly and mocked is awful. Although many celebrities and ex-fans (who have denounced their support for Paul after this stunt) have given their two cents, his recent tweets are still receiving 34k+ likes, and supportive replies including the hashtag #Logan_you_are_forgiven.

I'm sorry this story isn't quite as impartial and informative as my other entries. I considered going into more detail about celebrity responses, or discussing Paul's sorry excuse for an 'apology' video, but I'm afraid I can't. I'm just so disgusted that someone held in such high regard by so many young and impressionable people would not only think that this was an acceptable thing to film and publish, but also that he's so quickly been able to return to tweeting, publishing videos and attracting fan attention after such an abominable move. I'm angry and appalled and horrified by such a selfish, thoughtless move, and that Paul cares more about his own fame than the lives of vulnerable people such as the countless Japanese people who lose their lives to suicide every year.