Social Media and its effect on Suicide Rates among Young Children

Social Media and its effect on Suicide Rates among Young Children

Introduction

Social media is a relatively new phenomenon that has swept the world during the past decade. Social media fuses technology with social interaction via Internet-based applications that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content. Social media platforms, such as chat rooms, blogging Web sites (e.g., Blogspot), video sites (e.g., YouTube), social networking sites (e.g., Facebook, My- Space, Twitter, Google+), and electronic bulletin boards or forums, as well as e-mail, text messaging, and video chat, have transformed traditional methods of communication by allowing the instantaneous and interactive sharing of information created and controlled by individuals, groups, organizations, and governments (Mishara, 2007; Williams, 2011). At the end of 2004, the popular social networking site Facebook had close to 1 million users; by June 2011, that number had risen to nearly 700 million users worldwide. Facebook has reported that an average of 30 billion pieces of content (e.g., Web links, news reports, photo albums, blog postings) are shared every month via the social media site. Social media has become fundamental in the way many people and organizations communicate and share opinions, ideas, and information.

Discussion

Suicide among youth is a considerable public health problem; more than 30 000 suicide deaths in the United States and nearly 1 million suicide deaths worldwide occur every year. The role that the Internet, particularly social media, might have in suicide-related behavior is a topic of growing interest and debate. The recent increase in highly publicized cases of suicide that involve social media has drawn national attention to this topic. Researchers are also interested in whether the Internet in general primarily helps or hinders suicide prevention. Attempts to assess the extent of the Internet's influence on suicide behavior are difficult because of the indirect and complex association between Internet use and suicide. The myriad legal complexities involved, as well as the important issues of freedom of speech and civil liberties, have also triggered debate.

Whether some of social media's influence on suicide behavior should be considered a public health problem and how public health approaches might be used to address this influence are relevant issues. In this article, we discuss the role of social media in suicide-related behavior and frame the issue from a public health perspective. We begin with discussion of the primary ways social media can have a negative influence on suicide-related behavior and we evaluate the evidence of this influence. We then provide examples of how social media can be used in the prevention of suicide. We also discuss the legal complexities of this important topic and propose future directions for research and prevention programs that are based on a public health perspective.

Social Media & Suicide Risk

An immense quantity of information on the topic of suicide is available on the Internet and via social media. Biddle et al.conducted a systematic Web search of suicide-associated terms (e.g., suicide, suicide methods, how to kill yourself, and best suicide methods) to ...