Tragic Teen Murder Causes Chinese Netizens To Question Oversharing

Chinese netizens are wondering if a murdered 16-year-old endangered herself by sharing too much on Weibo, according to Shanghaiist.

Shenzen-resident Lai Zengyutong filled her Weibo with self portraits, photos of what she was eating, and information on where she was socializing.

The teenage girl went missing on January 12 in Shenzhen's Baoan district. She had told her family that she was meeting a friend for dinner, but she never returned home. Her body was later found in a junk shop.

Lai has since become a trending topic on Weibo. Netizens began posting candles on her account as a sign of respect, and she now has almost 40,000 followers:

Now people are discussing the role of social media in this tragedy. Shanghaiist points out that Weibo offers little in the way of privacy controls — all interactions are open to the public, even for young users such as Lai.

“Daily photo-posters, be more cautious. Don’t give the bad guys an opportunity!”, writes one user quoted by Tea Leaf Nation. "A quick look through Lai’s microblogging account gives a strong impression that she enjoyed sharing her vivacity with others," observes the blog, pointing out that Lai may have used her social media presence as a way to escape her strict home life.

Shenzhen Police have now announced (via their Weibo account) that they have arrested a 19-year-old man with the surname Meng in connection to the crime.

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