Since the rise of social media, there have been numerous cases of individuals being influenced towards committing suicide or self-harm through their use of social media, and even of individuals arranging to broadcast suicide attempts, some successful, on social media. The study of the relationship between social media and suicide aims to determine the risks social media poses in terms of suicide, and to identify methods of mitigating such risks.
Background
Suicide is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and as of 2020, the second leading cause of death in the United States for those aged 15–34. 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.
In 2020, people in the US had a suicide rate of 13.5 per 100,000. Suicide was a leading cause of death in the United States accounting for 48,183 deaths in 2021. Suicide rates increased by 30 per cent from 2000 to 2018 and declined in 2019 and 2020.
Suicide remains a significant public health issue worldwide, despite prevention efforts and treatments. Suicide has been identified not only as an individual phenomenon but also as being influenced by social and environmental factors. There is growing evidence that online activity has influenced suicide-related behavior. 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.
Bullying, whether on social media or elsewhere, physical or not, significantly increases victims' risk of suicidal behavior. Since social media was introduced some people have taken their lives as a result of cyberbullying. 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.
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. 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. 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. According to their findings, cyber-bullying increases suicidal thoughts by 14.5 percent and suicide attempts by 8.7 percent. 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. 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.
Adolescents involved in cyberbullying often downplay its seriousness by calling it a joke or blaming the victim. These moral disengagement strategies can normalize harmful behavior and reduce feelings of guilt. This normalization may increase emotional distress and contribute to risks like depression and suicidal thoughts.
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.
Social media's influence on suicide The media may portray suicidal behavior or language which can potentially influence people to act on these suicidal ideation. This may include news reports of actual suicides that have occurred or television shows and films that reenact suicides.
A survey has found that suicide-risk individuals who went online for suicide-related purposes, compared with online users who did not, reported greater suicide-risk symptoms, were less likely to seek help and perceived less social support.
Some organizations have proposed guidelines about how the media should report suicide. There is evidence that compliance with the guidelines varies. Some research showed that it is unclear whether the guidelines have successfully reduced the number of suicides. On the contrary, other research studies stated that the guidelines have worked in some cases.
Impact of pro-suicidal sites, message boards, chat rooms and forums Social media platforms have transformed traditional methods of communication by allowing instantaneous and interactive sharing of information created and controlled by individuals, groups, organizations, and governments. As of the third quarter of 2022, Facebook had 266 million monthly active users, between Canada and the US. 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. 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 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 afterwards, 220 people attempted suicide in this way, and 208 were successful. Biddle et al. 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. 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.
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. 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. 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. 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 a stable recovery and psychiatric evaluation.
In 2013, the main cause of nine teen suicides was due to hateful anonymous messages on Ask.fm.
Although there are concerns that the Internet may be a dangerous platform, where suicidal people might find suicide methods or encouragement to kill themselves, research has shown that the internet is more likely to have a positive than a negative influence.Kemp, C. G., & Collings, S. C. (2011). Hyperlinked suicide: Assessing the prominence and accessibility of suicide websites. Crisis, 32(3), 143-151. doi: 10.1027/0227-5910/a000068Harris, K. M. (2015). Life vs. death: The suicidal mind online. In E. Aboujaoude & V. Starcevic (Eds.), Mental Health in the Digital Age: Grave Dangers, Great Promise (pp. 135-151). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Cyberbullying and suicide Cyberbullying has received considerable attention as a possible cause of suicide. With the rise of social media, the risk of falling victim to blackmail has also increased. 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. 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. 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.
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.