“Shocking”1, “disturbing”2, and “distressing”2. This is how self-injury photographs published online have been described in the media. These images have been blamed for getting children “hooked”1, and even for contributing to suicide2.
Self-injury, and more generally self-harm, photographs have been the target of many social media bans over the past years. Yet they still exist, often resisting censorship in more hidden communities. To truly understand the phenomenon, we need to understand why people take such photographs, why they share it, and why people view them.
An image to remember
“I think I needed to see, to have proof that I wasn’t okay, even when I was not self-harming”, recalls Jenna. Like her, many people who engage in self-injury take photographs of their wounds and scars. This idea was mirrored by Hans T. Sternudd, Professor Emeritus of Art History and Visual Studies, who argues that photographs of self-injury can be a form of documentation to some, a way to keep memory and evidence that they have been feeling bad3. As wounds heal, and scars fade over time, photographs preserve the moment. “I was documenting many parts of it,” continues Jenna. “[T]he injuries […], the blood on the ground, the scars, the blisters from burning, the tools. I would take photos every time, and would see them as a collection almost, if there was a session with no photos it was almost a waste. I would view the photos regularly.”
But not all photographs are the same. Researcher and associate professor in communication Yukari Seko classifies self-injury photographs in two categories: those depicting fresh wounds are “documentary”, bearing witness to the act of injury. On the other hand, images showing scars fall under the category of “reminiscence”, they serve as visual evidence of past struggles and testify to recovery4.
Jenna stresses the importance of these images, even years after she stopped injuring herself: “Weirdly, I can’t delete these photos even though I feel fine now and haven’t harmed myself in years. My memory is becoming blurry about how I felt at the time, and now self-harm has become something very foreign, so these photos and my scars are the only things I have left to know that this time in my life has existed.”
From private to public
Many people who take photographs of their injuries do so for their own use, and do not share them with others3. But given the amount of self-injury photographs online, it is evident that it is not the case for everyone. While social media has made sharing self-injury content more accessible, it certainly did not start the phenomenon. Such content has existed as early as the use of the internet became widespread.
Created in 1998, Psyke.org is one of the earliest websites dedicated to self-injury. Among documentation, poems, and testimonies about self-injury, a controversial section can be explored: that of an extensive collection of self-injury photographs sent by visitors. Psyke.org’s page has been largely debated, and many visitors sent emails to the website’s owner, defending or condemning the publication of these images. All these emails have been made public on the website, offering a clear snapshot of the contrasted opinions this material triggered.
Given self-injury is often kept secret offline, it may be difficult to understand why some people choose to make it public on the internet. As with many other mental health-issues, self-injury is extremely stigmatized, even among people who engage in it. Norms and expectations regarding the severity and secrecy of someone’s self-injury differentiate “true” self-harmers from “wannabes”5. “I am a self injurer and personally I don’t think it’s right for people to show their injuries on websites”, wrote Louise as a reaction to Psyke.org’s photographs page. “Self injury is supposed to be a private thing. Well, it is for me anyway. I just think that posting pictures of scars and cuts are a way to get attention. The wrong kind of attention”6. According to her, self-injury is not “supposed” to be attention-seeking. Such stigma can be internalized by people who self-injure, as was the case with Jenna: “I’ve never posted anything online because I had internalized the attention-seeking stigma, and I would have judged myself for doing so.” And yet, she admits she was needing attention. “To be honest sometimes I wanted to [share photographs online]. I think there was […] just a desire to be seen, when people around didn’t realize how much I was suffering.”
Sharing photographs can be for some a way to receive help, and support, particularly when such support is lacking in their offline life7. Online communities enable people who struggle with self-injury to feel less isolated and alone by connecting with peers, but they have a downside: ultimately, self-injury photographs are no different than any other content on social media, in that one needs to post continuously to keep receiving likes and comments. Even more alarming: images that display severe self-injury receive more comments and attentions than those who feature milder forms7. This puts vulnerable people at risk of being trapped in a downward spiral, in which they not only need to maintain their self-injury, but also increase severity to keep receiving support and remain part of the self-injury community7.
But sharing self-injury photographs may not always be a way to receive something, as some do so to help others and hope it can deter others from harming themselves, as will be discussed below7.
The impact on the viewer
Images of self-injury have frequently been considered harmful by the media, and many social media platforms now ban such content. But what does research really say about the impact of these images on viewers?
A recent review of research about the impact of viewing self-harm images online found both harmful and protective effects. The study focused on self-injury, self-poisoning, and suicidal behaviors7. Surprisingly, self-harm photographs’ impact vary greatly from person to person. Those who do not have much experience with self-harm tend to perceive these images more negatively than those who have self-harmed more7.
The study has also shown that self-harm photographs can be triggering to those who struggle with self-injury, and increase their urge to harm themselves7. Some people even use this triggering effect intentionally to get in the mood for self-harm7. But the images were not triggering to everyone. Many people who self-injure also report finding such photographs comforting and calming3. Others describe the photographs as being exhilarating, replicating some sensations usually triggered by self-injury7, 8. As a result, some people watch images of self-injury to feel relieved, instead of injuring themselves4, 7.
Although self-injury photographs can also contribute to normalizing, sometimes even glamorizing, the behavior, which can lead to escalation in severity or frequency. As mentioned above, some people may try to adhere to a “self-harmer” identity, and may need to prove their legitimacy by harming themselves more, comparing themselves to others’ acts7. Psyke.org’s creator, Morten Wulff, wrote on the homepage of the photograph section that “this collection of pictures should not be seen as an encouragement to injure yourself. I do not want it to turn into a contest to see who can send me the ‘worst’ pictures”9. And yet, many visitors from the website worried about such photographs leading to escalation: “The world of self-injury is a competitive one”, warned Mary in an email to Wulff6. “Do you want someone to look at these pictures and feel that their own self injury isn’t “good enough”, so they must cut more?”, added Ragdoll6. Although she has never posted images of her self-injury online, Jenna admits the competitive aspect made her consider it. “I know it is not good, but I think there is a form of competition online, in regard to the seriousness of the injuries, the depth of cuts, etc. So when I was satisfied, even proud, of the depth of my cuts or the amount of blood, I wanted to share it in a way”, she recalls.
But the contrast between someone’s self-injury and more severe images online can also have a positive impact on some. “I’ve just looked at the pictures of self harm on your site. I used to think I did it bad but now that I’ve seen that I feel squeamish”, explained Natz as a reaction to photographs on Psyke.org6. “I just wanted to say thanks for putting those images online. It’s made me really stop […] and given me the chance to see how bad I could get”. Similarly to prevention campaigns, images of severe self-injury, or of its consequences such as scars, can show people the risk of self-injury. Disgust or fear elicited by such images can deter viewers from engaging in more severe self-harm, and sometimes even convince them to stop and seek help7.
Activism
Self-injury, and more generally self-harm, content online has become a public health matter due to growing concern that it may impact youths mental health. However when debating whether such content should be censored, it is important to both consider the well-being of those who do not self-injure, and those who do. What kind of message do social platforms convey when they ban self-injury content indifferently of the poster’s intentions? And what does it say about the place of mental health issues in our society?
Mental health remains stigmatized, and the internet offers a rare platform in which people can express themselves more freely and anonymously, and tell their story. Sharing photographs can be one way to tell a story and raise awareness. Yukari Seko argues that posting photographs of self-injury can shift the act of self-injury from the domain of mental health to that of advocacy4.
And yet, advocacy is often faced with invisibilization on social media. In 2019, Instagram announced that in addition to the banning of graphic self-injury images, “[w]e will not show non-graphic, self-harm related content – such as healed scars – in search, hashtags and the explore tab, and we won’t be recommending it. We are not removing this type of content from Instagram entirely, as we don’t want to stigmatize or isolate people who may be in distress and posting self-harm related content as a cry for help”10. This marked a shift in Meta’s policy about mental health, which previously tried to help people who posted such content, but now prioritize the viewer’s well-being instead. In response to Instagram’s new policy, people launched #youcantcensormyskin, arguing that censorship of people’s scars is stigmatizing and can make them feel ashamed of their body. They see scars as a message of hope and recovery that deserves to be shown11.
This raises some interesting questions regarding freedom of speech and responsibility online for example. Who is responsible when an online content affects a user? Should creators take into consideration the impact of the content they post? Should people be responsible for the content they access and their own emotions? Or should social media platforms protect its users? “There are enough warning signs up before you actually get to the pictures,” argues Melina in defense of Psyke.org’s page6. “If your friends are seeing them and getting triggered, then it is their own fault for pressing on in the first place, and there is nothing that you can do for them except encourage them to take heed of the warnings.” Similarly, on social media users commonly search content about mental health before being recommended unhealthy content, suggesting that algorithm only recommends self-harm images to those who have shown interest. Zoe Alderton, who gives lectures at the University of Sydney, believes “most of the reactions we presently witness are based on a sense of anxiety and are overshadowed by a paternalistic approach to protecting the vulnerable via complete censorship”5. Of course, the debate is not an easy one, as children and teenagers in particular may lack strategies to recognize harmful content.
On rare occasions, self-injury photography has flourished away from the internet, through the work of artists such as Kosuke Okahara or Lin Shihyen. The two photographers used photography to document the lives of those who struggled with self-injury in Japan, but rarely depicted graphic scenes. Instead, they mainly preferred to show people as a whole, with self-injury only being one aspect of their lives. Such an approach could be a way to find balance between raising awareness about mental health, while being neither triggering nor glamorizing self-injury.
References
[1] BBC. (2019, January 31). Instagram: Girl tells how she was ‘hooked’ on self-harm images. http://www.bbc.com. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-47069865
[2] Malik, J. (2019, March 12). ‘Unacceptable’ self-harm images still on Instagram. http://www.bbc.com. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-47541631
[3] Sternudd, H. T. (2012). Photographs of self-injury: production and reception in a group of self-injurers. Journal of Youth Studies, 15(4), 421-436. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2012.663894
[4] Seko, Y. (2013). Picturesque Wounds: A Multimodal Analysis of Self-Injury Photographs on Flickr. Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 14(2). https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-14.2.1935
[5] Alderton, Z. (2020). The Aesthetics of Self-Harm: The Visual Rhetoric of Online Self-Harm Communities. Routledge.
[6] Misc. (n.d.). Picture Feedback. Psyke.org. https://www.psyke.org/about/feedback/pictures/
[7] Susi, K., Glover-Ford, F., Stewart, A., Knowles Bevis, R., & Hawton, K. (2023). Research Review: Viewing self-harm images on the internet and social media platforms: systematic review of the impact and associated psychological mechanisms. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 64(8), 1115-1139. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13754
[8] Baker, T. G., & Lewis, S. P. (2013). Responses to online photographs of non-suicidal self-injury: a thematic analysis. Archives of Suicide Research, 17(3). https://doi.org/10.1080/13811118.2013.805642
[9] Wulff, M. (n.d.). Warning. Psyke.org. https://www.psyke.org/warning.html
[10] Mosseri, A. (2019, February 7). Instagram Policy Changes on Self-Harm Related Content. Instagram. Retrieved May 4, 2025, from https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/supporting-and-protecting-vulnerable-people-on-instagram
[11] Bramwell, K. (2019, May 30). Instagram: ‘I don’t want people to be ashamed of their scars’. BBC. Retrieved May 4, 2025, from https://www.bbc.com/news/health-48431858
Exploring self-harm 