90 Ways To Ask For Attention

Suicide is viewed by some to be the ultimate solution to any problem.  Others view it as a final solution to a temporary problem, and yet others refuse to acknowledge that it is any type of solution.  One’s point of view depends on his or her view of the meaning of life, a topic that has been contemplated since the beginning of human kind.  90 Day Jane’s blog suggests that she does not necessarily fit any of these views, but rather wants to commit suicide for no particular reason.  In the blog 90 Day Jane, Jane makes very clear through her hesitant tendencies and inconsistent comments that her blog was indeed an attempt to gain attention, rather than an honest documentation of her final days leading to her death.

The first way that 90 Day Jane is hesitant is demonstrated through the very name of the blog.  Jane decides that she is going to wait ninety days before committing suicide.  According to psychologist and chief executive officer of PsychCentral John Grohol, “90 days would be an eternity for most people contemplating suicide” (psychcentral.com).  Jane could accomplish the same thing by shortening the length of time that she will wait before committing the act.  If she simply wants to document her last days, a smaller number such as fifteen or twenty seems perfectly acceptable.  By having such a long time period it seems that she wants to get all of the attention that she can, rather than legitimately wanting to document her final days.  Also, 90 Day Jane states, “...I feel life has no greater purpose” (suicide.movielol.org).  If she has already decided that she is going to kill herself and has come to the conclusion that “life has no greater purpose,” then why give oneself any amount of time, especially a long time period such as ninety days, to possibly change one’s mind and arrive at another conclusion?  An interesting point about this quote is the fact that she attributes this view of her purpose in life, or lack there of it, to the fact that she is an atheist.  This quote seems more like she was writing based on what she thinks an atheist might say.  The fact is that atheists do have a purpose to life, just perhaps not a divine purpose.  According to Funny Jesus, a website which writes about atheism, the purpose of life according to an atheist is to “Live the best possible life you can, not for God or for other people, but for yourself” (funny-jesus.com).  How is putting an end to one’s life living for oneself?  It is the exact opposite of an atheist’s point of view.  One cannot “live for oneself” by not living.  This is just one instance where one of 90 Day Jane’s comments was inconsistent with reality.

Another reason that it seems as if 90 Day Jane simply wants attention is because she most often writes about the attention that she was given during a particular day.  For someone who is not trying to get extra attention, she seems to write quite often about all of the attention that she has received from various sources.  During day eighty-three 90 Day Jane writes about all of the television networks which have tried to contact her and ask for interviews, including one “HUGE” network (suicide.movielol.org).  It is as if she simply wants to know that the attention has been given to her and does not necessarily care to act on it.  On day eighty-four, 90 Day Jane again writes about the attention she was given that day when she states that she was asked out, vie electronic mail, on a Valentine’s Day date (suicide.movielol.org).  In this case she did decide to accept the date, though perhaps as unenthusiastically as her responses to other’s attempts of reaching out to 90 Day Jane.  One last way that it is made apparent that she is seeking at least some form of attention is found in her statement, “...please send me ideas on how to do the deed” (suicide.movielol.org).  If she honestly did not want any type of attention, she would have simply said not to contact her in any way, shape, or form.  Instead, she gives people permission to contact her and give her ideas on how to go about committing suicide.  Giving people permission to contact her, regardless of the reason, certainly perpetuates that she indeed is on a quest for attention. 

One last part of 90 Day Jane’s blog that is inconsistent with reality is found in day eight-seven.  90 Day Jane addresses her audience by saying:

You've brought up questions that i didn't exactly think about; Who will find me? What will i do with my body? Will I have a funeral? How will i let readers of the blog know that i am dead? Well, i plan on answering ALL of  these questions and more as soon as i figure it all out.

As previously mentioned, she also states that she believes that her life has no greater purpose.  It seems rather strange that she cares about all of her affairs after she dies, but does not care in the least for her life as it is now.  If she honestly believes that “life has no greater purpose,” then why do her material possessions and other affairs, the small pieces of her life, matter?  Also, she plans on answering these questions because her audience has asked her to, which further proves that the attention does matter to her.  If she did not care about the attention, she would just simply ignore all of the questions, especially the ones that did not relate to her method of suicide.

 90 Day Jane attempts to make her blog look as if she was truly going to commit suicide when the countdown comes to an end.  Her many inconsistencies and false comments, however, chip away one by one at her credibility and eventually make it quite apparent that she is simply in search of attention.  Furthermore, there is nothing artistic about something that could potentially cause others to harm themselves.  If she honestly wanted to document her final days, she could have easily just written in any old notebook but instead chooses to present it to an entire world of people on the internet as an attempt to gain some probably much needed attention.

Works Cited

 “90 Day Jane." 90 Day Jane. 6 Sep. 2009 <http://suicide.movielol.org/jane.html>.

 Grohol, John. "90 Day Jane and Suicide - World of Psychology." Psych Central. 6 Sep. 2009

            <http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2008/02/12/90-day-jane-and-suicide/>.

 "The Meaning Of Life From An Atheist Point Of View." Funny Jesus. 6 Sep. 2009

            <http://funny-jesus.com/the-meaning-of-life-from-an-atheist-point-of-view/>.