Social media and suicide

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Since the rise of social media, there have been numerous cases of individuals being influenced towards committing suicide through their use of social media, and even of individuals arranging to broadcast suicide attempts, some successful, on social media. Researchers have studied social media and suicide to determine what, if any, risks social media poses in terms of suicide, and to identify methods of mitigating such risks, if they exist. The search for a correlation has not yet uncovered a clear answer.

Contents

Background

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, [1] [2] and as of 2020, the second leading cause of death in the United States for those aged 15–34. [3] [4] According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide was the third leading cause of death among adolescents in the US, from 1999 to 2006. [5]

In 2020, people in the US had a suicide rate of 13.5 per 100,000. [6] Suicide was a leading cause of death in the United States accounting for 48,183 deaths in 2021. [7] Suicide rates increased by 30 per cent from 2000-2018 and declined in 2019 and 2020. [7]

Suicide remains a significant public health issue worldwide, despite prevention efforts and treatments. [8] Suicide has been identified not only as an individual phenomenon but also as being influenced by social and environmental factors. [9] There is growing evidence that online activity has influenced suicide-related behavior. [10] The use of social media throughout the 21st century has grown exponentially. For this reason, there are a variety of sources that are accessible to the public in various forms, especially social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok and many more. Although these platforms were intended to allow people to connect virtually, these platforms can lead to cyber-bullying, insecurity, and emotional distress, and sometimes may influence a person to attempt suicide. [10]

Bullying, whether on social media or elsewhere, physical or not, significantly increases victims' risk of suicidal behavior. [11] [12] Since social media was introduced some people have taken their lives as a result of cyberbullying. [13] [14] Furthermore, suicide rates among teenagers have increased from 2010 to 2022 as social media has become something that people interact with more throughout their day-to-day lives. [15]

Media algorithms tend to popularize videos and posts to inform the country of the rising trouble, which may create a popular appeal to the young and immature minds of teenagers. This is why, social media could provide higher risks with the promotion of different kinds of pro-suicidal sites, message boards, chat rooms, and forums. [16] Moreover, the Internet not only reports suicide incidents but documents suicide methods (for example, suicide pacts, an agreement between two or more people to kill themselves at a particular time and often by the same lethal means). Therefore, the role the Internet plays, particularly social media, in suicide-related behavior is a topic of growing interest.

Cyberbullying

There is substantial evidence that the Internet and social media can influence suicide-related behavior. [17] Such evidence includes an increase in exposure to graphic content. A research study conducted by Sameer Hinduja and Justin Patchin found a correlation between cyberbullying and suicide. [18] According to their findings, cyber-bullying increases suicidal thoughts by 14.5 percent and suicide attempts by 8.7 percent. [19] Particularly alarming is the fact that children and young people under 25 who are victims of cyberbullying are more than twice as likely to self-harm and engage in suicidal behavior. [20] Overall, teen suicide rates have increased within the past decade.This presents a significant public health concern, with over 40,000 suicides in the United States and nearly one million worldwide annually. [21]

Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals that 14.9 per cent of teenagers have experienced online bullying, while 13.6 per cent of teenagers have seriously attempted suicide. Both of these incidents are in increasing numbers in the United States. Furthermore, in numerous recent incidents, cyber-bullying led the victim to commit suicide; this phenomenon is now known as cyberbullicide. Many parents and children are unaware of the dangers and potential legal consequences of cyberbullying. As a response, anti-bullying regulations implemented by schools aim to prevent any form of bullying, including through technology, and protect students from online harassment. While some states have enacted laws against cyberbullying, there are currently no federal regulations addressing this issue. [22]

Social media's influence on suicide

The media may portray suicidal behavior or language which can potentially influence people to act on these  suicidal tendencies. [23] [24] [25] This may include news reports of actual suicides that have occurred or television shows and films that reenact suicides.

Some organizations have proposed guidelines about how the media should report suicide. [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] There is evidence that compliance with the guidelines varies. [25] [29] Some research showed that it is unclear whether the guidelines have successfully reduced the number of suicides. [24] On the contrary, other research studies stated that the guidelines have worked in some cases. [30] [31]

Impact of pro-suicidal sites, message boards, chat rooms and forums

Social media platforms have transformed traditional methods of communication by allowing the instantaneous and interactive sharing of information created and controlled by individuals, groups, organizations, and governments. [10] As of the third quarter of 2022, Facebook had 266 million monthly active users, between Canada and the US. [32] An immense quantity of information on the topic of suicide is available on the Internet and via social media. The information available on social media on the topic of suicide can influence suicidal behavior, both negatively and positively.

The social cognitive theory plays a vital role in suicide attempts influenced through social media. This theory is demonstrated when one is influenced by what they see through various processes that form into modeled behaviors.[ citation needed ] This can be shown when people post their suicide attempts online or promote suicidal behavior in general.

Contributors to these social media platforms may also exert peer pressure [33] and encourage others to take their own lives, idolize those who have killed themselves, and facilitate suicide pacts. These pro-suicidal sites reported the following. For example, on a Japanese message board in 2008, it was shared that people can kill themselves using hydrogen sulfide gas. Shortly after 220 people attempted suicide in this way, and 208 were successful. [34] Biddle et al. [35] conducted a systematic Web search of 12 suicide-associated terms (e.g., suicide, suicide methods, how to kill yourself, and best suicide methods) to analyze the search results and found that pro-suicide sites and chat rooms that discussed general issues associated with suicide most often occurred within the first few hits of a search. [36] In another study, 373 suicide-related websites were found using Internet search engines and examined. Among them, 31% were suicide neutral, 29% were anti-suicide, and 11% were pro-suicide. Together, these studies have shown that obtaining pro-suicide information on the Internet, including detailed information on suicide methods, is very easy. [10]

While social media has been prevalent in young adult suicide, some young adults find comfort and solace through these platforms. Young adults are making connections with people in like situations that are helping them feel less lonely. [37] Although the public opinion is that message boards are harmful, the following studies show how they point to suicide prevention and have positive influences. A study using content analysis analyzed all of the postings on the AOL Suicide Bulletin Board over 11 months and concluded that most contributions contained positive, empathetic, and supportive postings. [38] Then, a multi-method study was able to demonstrate that the users of such forums experience a great deal of social support and only a small amount of social strain. Lastly, in the survey participants were asked to assess the extent of their suicidal thoughts on a 7-level scale (0, absolutely no suicidal thoughts, to 7, very strong suicidal thoughts) for the time directly before their first forum visit and at the time of the survey. [38] The study found a significant reduction after using the forum. The study however cannot conclude the forum is the only reason for the decrease. Together, these studies show how forums can reduce the number of suicides.

An example of how social media can play a role in suicide is that of a male adolescent who arrived at the emergency department with his parents after suspected medication ingestion in which he attempted to overdose. Beforehand he had sent an ex-girlfriend a Snapchat picture of himself holding a bottle of acetaminophen, which was forwarded to the young male's parents. This picture was used by medical experts to establish the time of his ingestion, oral N-acetylcysteine was administered and he was brought to a pediatric care facility, where he had an uneventful recovery and psychiatric evaluation. [39]

In 2013, the main cause of nine teen suicides was due to hateful anonymous messages on Ask.fm. [40]

Cyberbullying and suicide

Cyberbullying has received considerable attention as a possible cause of suicide. [41] With the rise of social media, the risk of falling victim to blackmail has also increased. [42] It has been deemed a major health concern for affected teens and a major health threat to those affected by the psychological trauma inflicted by perpetrators on social media. [43] While there isn't one Federal Law that is specific to cyberbullying, 48 states have laws against cyberbullying or online harassment with 44 of those states having criminal sanctions within the laws. Many states have enhanced their harassment laws to include online harassment. [44] Criminal harassment statutes often provide a basis for bringing charges in severe cases, and more serious criminal charges have been brought in cases where evidence indicates a resultant suicide or other tragic consequences. Civil remedies have been sought in many cases where criminal liability was difficult to prove. [45]

In 2006, 13 year old Megan Meier hanged herself in her bedroom closet following a series of MySpace messages that came from a friend's mother and her 18 year old associate, who posed as a 16 year old boy named "Josh Evans" and encouraged Megan to commit suicide. The mother, Lori Drew, faced federal conspiracy charges related to computer fraud and abuse (see United States v. Drew), but was later acquitted.[ citation needed ]

In 2012, Canadian high school student Amanda Todd hanged herself after being blackmailed by a stalker, [46] and suffering from repeated cyberbullying and harassment at school. [47] On September 7, Todd posted a 9-minute YouTube video titled My story: Struggling, bullying, suicide, self-harm, which showed her using a series of flashcards to tell of her experiences being bullied. [48] The video went viral after her death on October 10, 2012, receiving over 1,600,000 views by October 13, 2012, [49] with news websites from around the world linking to it. [50]

In 2014, Conrad Roy killed himself after exchanging numerous text messages with Michelle Carter, his long-distance girlfriend, who repeatedly encouraged him to commit suicide. She was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, and sentenced to 15 months in prison. Carter was released in January 2020. [51]

Sadie Riggs, a Pennsylvania teen, killed herself in 2015 allegedly because of online bullying and harassment at school on her appearance. Sadie's aunt, Sarah Smith, contacted various social media companies, police, and Sadie's school in hopes to make the bullying stop. In desperation, Smith went as far as to break Sadie's phone, in her presence, in an attempt to stop the bullying. No charges were ever filed against any alleged suspect. [52]

In 2016, Chien Chih-cheng, a Taiwanese animal shelter director, committed suicide after appearing in a television program about animal euthanasia. Chien, an animal lover, was charged with euthanizing stray pets as a result of overcrowding in Taiwan's shelters. After appearing on the program, she was branded as an "executioner" and "female butcher", and she and the shelter she operated were subject to intense cyberbullying and abuse. She later died by injecting herself with the same substance she used to euthanize pets, leaving a note communicating that "all lives are equal". [53]

In a 2018 Florida case, two preteens were arrested and charged with cyberstalking after they were accused of cyberbullying another female middle school student, 12 year old Gabriella Green. Online rumors were spread about her, and she hanged herself immediately after a call with one of the abusers, who told her that "If you're going to do it, just do it" and ended the call, according to police. [54]

In 2019, Canadian Inuk pop singer Kelly Fraser, who was most popular for her Inuktitut language covers of pop songs, was found dead in her home near Winnipeg, Manitoba. Her death was ruled a suicide, which Fraser's family attributed to "childhood traumas, racism, and persistent cyberbullying." [55]

Austrian doctor Lisa-Maria Kellermayr committed suicide in 2022 after a tweet she made criticizing opponents to Covid measures caused her to become a target of death threats, intimidation and abuse. [56]

Media contagion effect

Suicide contagion can be viewed within the larger context of behavioral contagion, which has been described as a situation in which the same behavior spreads quickly and spontaneously through a group. Suicide contagion refers to the phenomenon of indirect exposure to suicide or suicidal behaviors influencing others to attempt to kill themselves. [57] The Persons most susceptible to suicide contagions are those under 25 years of age. [58] Media coverage of suicides has been shown to significantly increase the rate of suicide, and the magnitude of the increase is related to the amount, duration, and prominence of coverage. [59] A recent study by Dunlop et al. [60] specifically examined possible contagion effects on suicidal behavior via the Internet and social media. Of 719 individuals aged 14 to 24 years, 79% reported being exposed to suicide-related content through family, friends, and traditional news media such as newspapers, and 59% found such content through Internet sources. [10] This information may pose a hazard for vulnerable groups by influencing decisions to die by suicide. In particular, interactions via chat rooms or discussion forums may foster peer pressure to die by suicide, encourage users to idolize those who have died by suicide, or facilitate suicide pacts. [10] Recently there has been a trend in creating memorial social media pages in honor of a deceased person. In New Zealand, a memorial page was made after a person died by suicide, this resulted in the suicide of eight other persons thereafter, which further shows the power of the media contagion effect. [61] One South Korean study demonstrated that social media data can be used to predict national suicide numbers. [62]

Suicide notes

It has generally been found that those who post suicide notes online tend to not receive help. [63]

Several notable cases support this argument:

Suicide pacts

A suicide pact is an agreement between two or more people to die by suicide at a particular time and often by the same lethal means. [68] [69] Although suicide pacts are found to be rare however, there are traditional suicide pacts that have typically developed among individuals who know each other, such as a couple of friends. Additionally, a suicide pact that has been formed or developed in some way through the use of the Internet is known as a cyber suicide pact. [70] A primary difference between cybersuicide pacts and traditional suicide pacts is that these pacts are usually formed among strangers. [68] They mostly use online chat rooms and virtual bulletin boards and forums as an unmediated avenue to share their feelings with other like-minded individuals, which can be easier than talking about such thoughts and feelings in person. [10]

The first documented use of the Internet to form a suicide pact was reported in Japan in 2000. It has now become a more common form of suicide in Japan, where the suicide rate increased from 34 suicides in 2003 to 91 suicides in 2005. Also, South Korea now has one of the world's highest suicide rates (24.7/100 000 in 2005), and evidence exists that cyber suicide pacts may account for almost one-third of suicides in that country. [10] Suicide pacts are also in the United States. In April 2018, Macon Middle School, a middle school in North Carolina, became aware of a group on social media called "Edgy" or "Edgy Fan Page 101" in which this group came up with a suicide pact and had suicidal ideations. The middle school contacted the parents and informed them to look into their children's social media pages and talk with them about the dangers of a group like this. [71]

Gerald Krein [72] and William Francis Melchert-Dinkel were accused of arranging internet suicide pacts.

Interventions

Suicide intervention on social media has saved many lives on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. All of the aforementioned companies have slightly different ways to report posts that may seem suicidal.

Facebook

Facebook, assisted by, among a handful of other experts, Dr. Dan Reidenburg of Suicide Awareness Voices of Education—"uses an algorithm to track down buzzwords and phrases that are commonly associated with suicide" and has intervened in over 3,500 cases, according to company reports. The algorithm reportedly tracks buzzwords and phrases associated with suicide and an alert is sent to Facebook's Safety Center. [73]

"The technology itself isn't going to send somebody to their house. A person at Facebook would have to do that..."

–Dr. Dan Reidenburg [73]

Twitter

Forums

Discussion and support groups

The Defense Centers of Excellence have expressed interest in using social media for suicide prevention. [77] Facebook groups have sometimes been set up for suicide prevention purposes, [78] including one that attracted 47,000 members. [79] Although many teens and preteens encounter suicide-related posts from peers on different social media apps, they also encounter suicide prevention hotlines and website links as well. [80]

SAMHSA's Suicide Prevention Lifeline operates on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. [81] The American Foundation For Suicide Prevention is trying to understand and prevent suicide through research, education, and advocacy.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copycat suicide</span> Emulation of another suicide

A copycat suicide is defined as an emulation of another suicide that the person attempting suicide knows about either from local knowledge or due to accounts or depictions of the original suicide on television and in other media. The publicized suicide serves as a trigger, in the absence of protective factors, for the next suicide by a susceptible or suggestible person. This is referred to as suicide contagion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bullying</span> Use of force or coercion to abuse or intimidate others

Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing, comments, or threats, in order to abuse, aggressively dominate, or intimidate one or more others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception that an imbalance of physical or social power exists or is currently present. This perceived presence of physical or social imbalance is what distinguishes the behavior from being interpreted or perceived as bullying from instead being interpreted or perceived as conflict. Bullying is a subcategory of aggressive behavior characterized by hostile intent, the goal of addressing or attempting to "fix" the imbalance of power, as well as repetition over a period of time.

According to a 2023 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, suicide is the second leading cause of death for adolescents between the ages of 10 and 14, and the third leading cause of death for those between 15 and 25

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suicide prevention</span> Collective efforts to reduce the incidence of suicide

Suicide prevention is a collection of efforts to reduce the risk of suicide. Suicide is often preventable, and the efforts to prevent it may occur at the individual, relationship, community, and society level. Suicide is a serious public health problem that can have long-lasting effects on individuals, families, and communities. Preventing suicide requires strategies at all levels of society. This includes prevention and protective strategies for individuals, families, and communities. Suicide can be prevented by learning the warning signs, promoting prevention and resilience, and committing to social change.

A suicide pact is an agreed plan between two or more individuals to die by suicide. The plan may be to die together, or separately and closely timed.

There are more than 720,000 estimated global suicide deaths every year. Suicide affects every demographic, yet there are some populations that are more impacted than others. For example, among 15–29 year olds, suicide is much more prominent; this being the third leading cause of death within this age group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suicidal ideation</span> Thoughts, ideas, or ruminations about the possibility of ending ones life

Suicidal ideation, or suicidal thoughts, is the thought process of having ideas, or ruminations about the possibility of completing suicide. It is not a diagnosis but is a symptom of some mental disorders, use of certain psychoactive drugs, and can also occur in response to adverse life circumstances without the presence of a mental disorder.

Internet safety, also known as online safety, cyber safety and electronic safety (e-safety), refers to the policies, practices and processes that reduce the harms to people that are enabled by the (mis)use of information technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">School bullying</span> Type of bullying in an educational setting

School bullying, like bullying outside the school context, refers to one or more perpetrators who have greater physical strength or more social power than their victim and who repeatedly act aggressively toward their victim. Bullying can be verbal or physical. Bullying, with its ongoing character, is distinct from one-off types of peer conflict. Different types of school bullying include ongoing physical, emotional, and/or verbal aggression. Cyberbullying and sexual bullying are also types of bullying. Bullying even exists in higher education. There are warning signs that suggest that a child is being bullied, a child is acting as a bully, or a child has witnessed bullying at school.

Youth suicide is when a young person, generally categorized as someone below the legal age of majority, deliberately ends their own life. Rates of youth suicide and attempted youth suicide in Western societies and elsewhere are high. Female youth are more likely to attempt suicide than male youth but less likely to die from their attempt. For example, in Australia, suicide is second only to motor vehicle accidents as its leading cause of death for adolescents and young adults aged 15 to 25.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suicide</span> Intentional act of causing ones own death

Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse are common risk factors.

Research has found that attempted suicide rates and suicidal ideation among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) youth are significantly higher than among the general population.

Bullying and suicide are considered together when the cause of suicide is attributable to the victim having been bullied, either in person or via social media. Writers Neil Marr and Tim Field wrote about it in their 2001 book Bullycide: Death at Playtime.

Peer victimization is harassment or bullying that occurs among members of the same peer group. It is often used to describe the experience among children or young people of being a target of the aggressive and abusive behavior of other children, who are not siblings and not necessarily age-mates.

Experts from many different fields have conducted research and held debates about how using social media affects mental health. Research suggests that mental health issues arising from social media use affect women more than men and vary according to the particular social media platform used, although it does affect every age and gender demographic in different ways. Psychological or behavioural dependence on social media platforms can result in significant negative functions in individuals' daily lives. Studies show there are several negative effects that social media can have on individuals' mental health and overall well-being. While researchers have attempted to examine why and how social media is problematic, they still struggle to develop evidence-based recommendations on how they would go about offering potential solutions to this issue. Because social media is constantly evolving, researchers also struggle with whether the disorder of problematic social media use would be considered a separate clinical entity or a manifestation of underlying psychiatric disorders. These disorders can be diagnosed when an individual engages in online content/conversations rather than pursuing other interests.

Cyberbullying is a form of bullying or harassment using electronic means. Since the 2000s, it has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers and adolescents, due to young people's increased use of social media. Related issues include online harassment and trolling. In 2015, according to cyberbullying statistics from the i–Safe Foundation, over half of adolescents and teens had been bullied online, and about the same number had engaged in cyberbullying. Both the bully and the victim are negatively affected, and the intensity, duration, and frequency of bullying are three aspects that increase the negative effects on both of them.

Social media began in the form of generalized online communities. These online communities formed on websites like Geocities.com in 1994, Theglobe.com in 1995, and Tripod.com in 1995. Many of these early communities focused on social interaction by bringing people together through the use of chat rooms. The chat rooms encouraged users to share personal information, ideas, or even personal web pages. Later the social networking community Classmates took a different approach by simply having people link to each other by using their personal email addresses. By the late 1990s, social networking websites began to develop more advanced features to help users find and manage friends. These newer generation of social networking websites began to flourish with the emergence of SixDegrees.com in 1997, Makeoutclub in 2000, Hub Culture in 2002, and Friendster in 2002. However, the first profitable mass social networking website was the South Korean service, Cyworld. Cyworld initially launched as a blog-based website in 1999 and social networking features were added to the website in 2001. Other social networking websites emerged like Myspace in 2002, LinkedIn in 2003, and Bebo in 2005. In 2009, the social networking website Facebook became the largest social networking website in the world. Both Instagram and Kik were launched in October 2010. Active users of Facebook increased from just a million in 2004 to over 750 million by the year 2011. Making internet-based social networking both a cultural and financial phenomenon. In September 2011, Snapchat was launched and has had over 300 million monthly subscribers as of 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital media use and mental health</span> Mental health effects of using digital media

The relationships between digital media use and mental health have been investigated by various researchers—predominantly psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, and medical experts—especially since the mid-1990s, after the growth of the World Wide Web and rise of text messaging. A significant body of research has explored "overuse" phenomena, commonly known as "digital addictions", or "digital dependencies". These phenomena manifest differently in many societies and cultures. Some experts have investigated the benefits of moderate digital media use in various domains, including mental health, and treating mental health problems with novel technological solutions. Studies have also suggested that certain digital media use, such as online support communities, may offer mental health benefits, although the effects are quite complex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auto-trolling</span> Self-abuse on the Internet

Auto-trolling, self-cyberbullying, digital Munchausen or digital self-harm is a form of self-abuse on the Internet. It is usually done by teenagers posting fake insults on social media, attacking themselves to elicit attention and sympathy. A study in 2012 found that about 35 per cent of those who did this felt better. Studies in 2016 and 2019 found an increase in prevalence in American adolescents rising from 6 to 9 per cent. In a 2011 study, boys were more likely than girls to admit to digital self-bullying. In a 2022 study published by researchers Justin Patchin, Sameer Hinduja, and Ryan Meldrum, US youth who engaged in digital self-harm were between five and seven times more likely to have considered suicide and between nine and fifteen times more likely to have attempted suicide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anat Brunstein Klomek</span> Israeli psychologist

Anat Brunstein-Klomek is an Israeli psychologist. She is an associate professor at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya and holds an adjunct position at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. Her research focuses on depression, suicide and bullying.

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Further reading