Digital Stories of Youth Who Injure Their Own Bodies and Challenges in Today’s Society

Abstract

The responsibility and solution for bodily self-harm has been tied to the individual, while society and
the social context have remained exempt from accountability. This article portrays the challenges that
youth who injure their own bodies experience in today’s society. Society has changed, and along with
such changes come certain implications for today’s youth. Changes in the family situation for youth
who harm their own bodies lead to loneliness and a reduction in social capital. Bodily self-harmers are
influenced by societal discourses on what is expected of youth today, and such discourses are
internalized. Injury of one’s own body is considered a deviant act and, thus, self-harmers feel they do
not fit in today’s society. They experience increased pressure in relation to both education and physical
appearance. This analysis is based on the digital stories of seven youths who injure or have injured
their own bodies.