Back in April, a terrifying video took social media by storm. It showed a baby sitting on the edge of a tin roof on the second floor of an apartment building in Avadi outside Chennai. The baby had allegedly fallen when her mother was nursing her on the fourth-floor balcony. Residents of the apartment building had all gathered to help the baby and a few of them risked their lives to save the baby from falling from the roof. The kid was ultimately saved.
This is the video which went viral on social media:
Good Samaritans save toddler from deadly fall. The video captures the stunning rescue.
The incident reportedly occurred in an apartment complex at Avadi in #Chennai where the child had fallen over plastic sheet covering a roof.
Story by @PramodMadhav6#Toddler #Rescue… pic.twitter.com/lCoCIdIgOi
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) April 28, 2024
However, the mother of the child was incessantly bullied and shamed online. According to NDTV, the parents along with the child moved to her hometown in Coimbatore. She allegedly was suffering from depression after the incident. On Saturday, the woman died by suicide. According to the investigators of the incident, the massive social media trolling must have pushed her to take such a step.
Remember this miraculous rescue of a baby in Chennai?
The mother has allegedly died by suicide as a result of endless trolling of how she let this happen to her baby…
The price of online toxicity and trolling!!! https://t.co/Fv9DgLo4cW
— Akshita Nandagopal (@Akshita_N) May 20, 2024
This isn’t the first time social media bullying has driven a person to suicide. In the recent past, a 16-year-old queer makeup artist named Pranshu died by suicide because of online trolling for his makeup videos.
Post this incident, several people online called for drastic steps and laws to curb online bullying. Society fails to realise how a massive toll such incidents can take on a person’s mental health. Here’s what they have been saying:
Oh God! The social media and it’s excessive scrutiny can be life threatening too. There should be some mechanism to check abuse!
— Rajat Agarwala (@RjtAg222) May 20, 2024
Cyberbullying should be made as a cognizable offense. Many people have gone into depression and some even lost their lives. Who are we to judge anyone with their personal lives?
— 🇮🇳Balaji🇮🇳 (@Balaji5168) May 20, 2024
It’s the result of nonstop media nonsense, with Tamil media interviewing her neighbors, relatives, friends, and onlookers & villifying the mother.
Don’t blame social media users alone..
— Aryabhata | ஆர்யபட்டா 🕉️ (@Aryabhata99) May 20, 2024
CONSENT Matters
Not every person is geared to deal with Trolling & Abuses on a National Level – News Media & Social Media are RESPONSIBLE
Equally RESPONSIBLE are those people around her -her relatives & neighbours
Instead of comforting her, they might hv abused her even more https://t.co/EfbGkyfe2H
— Slaveee (@bow_2_alpha_Fem) May 20, 2024
Tragic! Think before you troll anyone online, there is a real person at the other end. https://t.co/67lDSPiFMx
— Hemal Vora (@hemal018) May 20, 2024
Strict laws and punishments for “Online bullying” are the need of the hour. https://t.co/5WfakBosfQ
— Manoj Kumar S (@manu369741) May 20, 2024
If only ppl knew to mind their business irl, it wouldn’t have cost the life of the mom. They should’ve been glad that the baby is safe and understood the fact that no mother would’ve wantedly do that to the baby. Such a toxic world we’re living in. https://t.co/0wRcmkoVav
— ・ิ 𝙑𝙖𝙧𝙨𝙝 ・ิ ^・^🐾 (@VarshRaja) May 20, 2024
If people were a bit more empathetic and supportive, maybe the woman wouldn’t have taken such a drastic step.