90 Day Jane - shocking!

[Angela]

I just came across this blog of a woman who is tracking her last 90 days alive before she kills herself, and I must say this is one of the most appalling Internetcidents I have ever seen. She doesn't want help unless it's help in killing herself. She's getting lots of media attention.

Latest post has a guy asking her out for Valentine's Day:

Day 84:
"He seems nice, and there's a sense of perspective in the futility of a Valentine date without a future.

I just hope he's not looking for anything long-term. "

Ack! I'm not easily shocked, but this is just....well, ack.

[Ak47]

Well it's things like that which grab peoples attention. I wouldn't doubt it's just for attention. Look at the way she "talks"... doesn't seem too depressing to me. Cynical, but definitely not pessimist...

...at least from that exceprt anyway. Most people who threaten suicide just want something, usually attention. People who actually commit don't usually tell anyone; they all know telling someone could lead to their plan being foiled by another.

You can take my word on that one.

[sheffy4]

Originally Posted by Ak47

Well it's things like that which grab peoples attention. I wouldn't doubt it's just for attention. Look at the way she "talks"... doesn't seem too depressing to me. Cynical, but definitely not pessimist...

...at least from that exceprt anyway. Most people who threaten suicide just want something, usually attention. People who actually commit don't usually tell anyone; they all know telling someone could lead to their plan being foiled by another.

You can take my word on that one.

I agree. I mean, it's possible that she did or does have the intention of committing suicide, but most suicidal people tend to stop putting effort into their life, and they withdraw from people, they don't usually broadcast it on the internet, except if they just want someone to care enough to stop them.
My best friend slit her wrists (she lived) while we were roommates a few years ago, and she never said anything to me. I could tell she was depressed and withdrawn, but I never suspected she would keep something like that from me. Fortunately, she came to her senses after bleeding for a little while and she woke me up in the middle of the night and said, "Ashley, I think I made a mistake." Her voice was so full of fear, I'll never forget it. It was a horrible way to wake up. Anyway, my point is, she was my best friend, and my roommate, and I never suspected it.
This girl reminds me of that horrible movie that just came out, Untraceable. I thought it was going to be a psychological thriller, but instead it was a violent horror flick about a guy who broadcasts live murders on the internet. If the movie had been advertised more accurately, I never would have seen it.
Despite my doubts, I hope everything with this girl turns out ok. I hope she is just crying wolf.

[beel]

i don't know if i believe it. the video of her picking out a dress seemed almost rehearsed. nonetheless, it seems 80 day jack is going to beat her to the punch. LOI (which has given me plenty of LOL all week, thanks for that post angela!) 80 Day Jack

[Erki]

Isn't every countdown somewhat similar to countdown to death? Counting down days to the end of the week, to the end of the year, to the payday, to the end of the job contract... but also to more positive things.

Counting time down to something feels wrong to me. It means to me that the present moment is not worth living, that it would make more sense to fast forward those 30 or 80 or 90 days or years and then be there. And possibly start another countdown.

If I'm counting time down to some date, I'm not in the present. And the present is where I live, whether or not I want to. If I resist the present, I am not (fully) alive.

[DayInTheLife]

90 day Jane has been revealed as a hoax:

90 Day Jane, the blogger who promised to commit suicide in 90 days, won't. She made the site as an art project, figuring only some friends would see it because people usually aren't drawn to dramatic stories on the Internet. While Jane hasn't revealed her true identity, Radar Magazine thinks they found her at a blog named Void, running the photo and caption shown here. Anyway, after Jane outed herself on the blog, she shut the whole thing down. We saved the confessional post below, in which Jane thanks her readers for being "real and heartfelt" and gives props to all of you who asked her to flash some tit.

A statement from Jane herself:

90DayJane is a personal art piece about me. It was meant for me and
(what I ignorantly thought would be) a small number of people who
might find it on BlogSpot. It is the result of me tapping into the
darkest part of myself and seeing where it led.
What I have written and filmed, at its core, is from a place of truth.
I am the girl in the videos. I have great disappointment with my
generation and its obvious obsession with celebrity culture rather
than their fellow man, thus the former Chuck Palahniuk reference.
I wanted this blog to be about personal discovery and truth. But the
correspondences I have received have taught me more about those
qualities than I could ever express. 90DayJane has become its own
entity and has influenced me. In fact, it has changed my perspective
as a human being.
I feel a massive sense of responsibility to my art, but more
importantly the readers of this blog. My closeness to this project
must have made art seem like reality to many people. That is not a
reaction that I expected nor can I morally justify. This is why my
project, 90DayJane, will be taken down in the next few hours.
90DayJane was meant to mirror the tragic figure, Christine Chubbuck.
Newscaster Christine Chubbuck committed suicide in 1974 by shooting
herself in the head live on air. She was very vocal about her
depression to those around her and gave every indication of her exact
intentions leading up to the event. Sadly, no one reacted or helped
Christine and those left behind could only ask "why".
Her story both inspired and terrified me because I can truly empathize
with her rage and even her isolation. I wondered how Christine's life
and subsequent suicide would play out in our time. Would the internet
be yet another place of isolation to her or an escape? If she remained
vocal about her intentions would anyone bother asking "why" or even
noticing before the fact? Would the reaction (if any) of the public
change her intentions?
I thought this mirror might reflect the isolation everyday people feel
and the lack of true human connection on the internet.
It is my feeling that the internet is the best and worst example of
human interaction. This was painfully proven to me by reading every
comment and every email. I believe I owed that to everyone. I know we
all saw the dark side of the reactions in the blog comments. There was
so much hate, immaturity and apathy. But, I truly wish everyone could
see the beauty and honesty in the emails; many people feel like Jane
(me). People have been more real and heartfelt than I thought was
possible. I owe them a debt of gratitude for showing me the difference
between people's reactions and their true feelings. I understand.
I do want everyone to know that I accepted no money for 90DayJane
despite multiple offers from television, film, books, etc... I will
not release my identity and I ask not to be contacted for any type of
promotion. I want only for the people who wrote to me to know that I
hear them and feel the same way. Your emails touched me so much.
Please, share your thoughts with someone in your life or express them
in a positive way.

To everyone, please reach out to those around you. It's much harder to
ask for help than to offer it.


In the video above I created a PostSecret revealing this project for
what it is. I am in no way affiliated with them, but their site does
great work for suicide outreach. At any rate, PostSecret gives me both
strength and perspective whenever I read it. I hope it does the same
for you.

thx- 90DayJane

Webtards: 90 Day Jane Not Killing Herself, Not As Hot As You Hoped

[Angela]

I'm so glad she's taking responsibility for the impact her project has had! I'm not surprised that this has led to a major shift in her perspective. Yikes.

[Joely]

I honestly don't know what to think, but I'm left with the thought that those who ask for help are often treated as whiners and fakes, begging for attention, while those who don't but end up killing themselves leave a bunch of people behind saying "Why didn't he/she ask for help?"

[Gewyne]

I feel sorry for people who are in genuine need who often get ignored. So many people seem to be crying wolf for fun, attention seeking and boredom that a lot of people are becoming jaded to the whole thing. The vulnerable people just get more and more sidelined by these type of media stunts.

[Jonathan Mead]

Wow that is really compelling. I too feel sorry for those that are crying out for help and don't receive the assistance they desperately need. This just goes to show you though how many compassionate caring people there are in the world. I think we should assume that these people do need help, and that we should do everything we can without us too becoming cosumed.