Actor Taapsee Pannu has reacted to the tragic death of influencer and entrepreneur Misha Agrawal, whose family says she died by suicide after being deeply affected by a drop in her Instagram followers. Expressing her anguish, the actor called the incident heartbreaking and warned of the mental health dangers linked to social media obsession.
Taking to Instagram on Wednesday, Taapsee wrote, “This is something I long feared seeing the obsession of a lot of people around. Fear that a day will come the numbers here will overpower the love to live.” She further added, “Fear that the desperate need of virtual love will blind you towards the real love around you. And this instant gratification and validation of likes n comments will overtake the degrees which make you worth much more. It’s heartbreaking to see this.”
The 24-year-old content creator, who was also the founder of Mish Cosmetics, had reportedly set a personal milestone of reaching one million followers on Instagram. Her family revealed in an emotional statement that Misha’s phone wallpaper even displayed this goal. They shared that her sense of self-worth became closely tied to her social media numbers, and the recent dip in followers left her feeling “worthless.”
Her sister wrote in the note, “My little baby sister had built her world around Instagram and her followers… When her followers started decreasing, she became distraught and felt worthless. Since April, she had been deeply depressed, often hugging me and crying, saying, ‘Jijja, what will I do if my followers decrease? My career will be over.’”
Despite having an LLB degree and preparing for the judicial services examination, Misha struggled with anxiety and depression. “I reminded her of her talents… told her she would become a judge someday,” the family added, sharing their efforts to reassure her and shift her focus away from Instagram metrics. “Unfortunately, my little sister didn’t listen… She left our world forever.”
On April 26, a post appeared on Misha’s Instagram handle announcing her death, just two days before her 25th birthday.
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health issues, help is available. In India, contact Sumaitri at 011-23389090 or Sneha Foundation at 044-24640050 for confidential support.