Logan Paul is a rising YouTube creator who has definitely caused some controversy in the past.
Recently, Logan decided to make a "fun vlog" for his channel, documenting his journey into the Aokigahara Forest in Japan (more commonly known as the suicide forest).
This forest is considered to be the suicide forest because it is very secluded. Many individuals walk into the forest with hopes and intentions of ending their life. However, within the forest, there are many signs that encourage walkers to think twice about ending their life. Signs with the words, "life is a precious gift," is found at the front of the forest entrance. These kinds of signs are found throughout the trail.
Paul has been touring Japan for a bit, making content throughout his journey. In this particular video, Logan Paul and his friends decided to document their journey into the suicide forest. Footage shows the crew making their way through the forest in an obnoxious way, being loud and disrespectful.
Suddenly, the footage pans to Logan and his friends discovering a body in the forest.
The common thought here would be, "Oh, he'll turn the camera off and the vlog will end," but instead Paul took a different route and decided to film the lifeless body. If the acts committed by Paul before this scene was showed weren't enough to make you stop watching this particular vlog, then this scene probably made your stomach churn.
This video has been addressed many times over the past few days (see Cody Ko's video here and Emma Chamberlain's video here), but I feel like I have to say this: Logan Paul handled this situation in the worst possible way.
Yes, he apologized for his video, but he should have never even contemplated uploading the video in the first place. Paul disrespected the victim by showing his body (to his audience of primarily 12-year-olds, I might add), he disrespected the victim's family, and he completely failed to give even the slightest bit of respect to others who may have been affected by suicide.
Paul claimed to have made this video to promote suicide/mental health awareness, but the video itself was a pretty sick way of doing that. Here are 10 things Logan Paul could have done to spread suicide awareness instead.
1. Film a video doing literally anything else and donate the proceeds he made off of that video to a mental health organization.
2. Create a campaign that helps provide guidance to those struggling with suicidal thoughts.
3. Talk about suicide with his fanbase in an attempt to end stigmas about mental health disorders.
4. Volunteer with mental health organizations.
5. Use hashtags promoting mental health awareness or suicide prevention on any of his social media platforms.
6. Share the number for the Suicide Prevention Hotline.
7. Encourage non-judgmental speech and refrain from using words like "crazy" to describe someone.
8. Encourage his fans to educate themselves on mental health disorders.
9. Share a link to different suicide prevention websites/chat rooms.
10. Show his support toward those who do struggle with mental illness or suicidal thoughts.
Logan, you handled this situation completely wrong. It shouldn't be this difficult to be a decent human being, yet you make it so tasking for yourself. Personally, I think you deserve the backlash you have gotten, but that's a different story altogether.
If you or a loved one are suffering from suicidal thoughts, don't hesitate to call 1-800-273-8255. You are loved.
