This self mutilation may be on the rise but it is not new. Going back to the early and mid 1970’s I remember scaring. The practice of using a razor blades to scrape the name of your boyfriend or girlfriend into your arm and letting it scab over. If you did it real deep it would leave a scar. If you were less daring, it would go away when the scab fell off. My sister did it, and so did I.
Why did we do it? Got me. Just one of those stupid things young teens do.
I helped a friend get his daughter over her goth phase by showing her pictures of myself back in the 80s. We were doing more or less the same thing 20 years earlier.
I didn’t dye my hair or paint my fingernails but we wore all the black clothes and were the goth of the day. I don’t remember anyone having a name for us but it was the thing we did. I still prefer black shoes and shirts. Black jeans are pretty rare for adults these days.