Social media and suicide
Encyclopedia
Social media and suicide have important relationships. The death of Phoebe Prince
was said to have resulted from cyberbullying. There is some concern that the desire for achieving prestige via online memorials may encourage suicides. Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster
, has warned that popular social networking sites lead young people to form "transient relationships" which put them at risk of suicide when they collapse.
update his intent to commit suicide. In 2010, John Patrick Bedell left a Wikipedia
user page and YouTube
videos interpreted by some as a suicide note; the former was deleted by Wikipedia administrators. Joe Stack also posted a suicide note online.
and her followers intervened to stop a suicide that had been announced on Twitter
.
, have emerged as discussion and support groups for suicidal individuals. Research indicates that providing more online support for suicidal people would be more effective than shutting down pro-suicide websites. The Defense Centers of Excellence have expressed interest in using social media for suicide prevention
. Facebook groups have sometimes been set up for suicide prevention purposes, including one that attracted 47,000 members.
SAMHSA's Suicide Prevention Lifeline operates on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
Death of Phoebe Prince
The suicide of Phoebe Prince, on January 14, 2010, led to the criminal prosecution of six teenagers for charges including statutory rape and civil rights violations, as well as to the enactment of stricter anti-bullying legislation by the Massachusetts state legislature.Prince had moved from...
was said to have resulted from cyberbullying. There is some concern that the desire for achieving prestige via online memorials may encourage suicides. Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster
Archbishop of Westminster
The Archbishop of Westminster heads the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster, in England. The incumbent is the Metropolitan of the Province of Westminster and, as a matter of custom, is elected President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, and therefore de facto spokesman...
, has warned that popular social networking sites lead young people to form "transient relationships" which put them at risk of suicide when they collapse.
Suicide notes
It has generally been found that those who post suicide notes online tend to not receive help. Paul Zolezzi indicated via a FacebookFacebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
update his intent to commit suicide. In 2010, John Patrick Bedell left a Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
user page and YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
videos interpreted by some as a suicide note; the former was deleted by Wikipedia administrators. Joe Stack also posted a suicide note online.
Suicide pacts
Gerald Krein and William Francis Melchert-Dinkel were accused of arranging internet suicide pacts.Interventions
Demi MooreDemi Moore
Demi Guynes Kutcher , known professionally as Demi Moore, is an American actress. After minor roles in film and a role in the soap opera General Hospital, Moore established her career in films such as St...
and her followers intervened to stop a suicide that had been announced on Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
.
Discussion and support groups
Some online groups, such as alt.suicide.holidayAlt.suicide.holiday
alt.suicide.holiday is a Usenet newsgroup. Its original purpose was to discuss the relationship between suicide rates and holiday seasons. However, it has since evolved into a broad discussion forum where suicidal and depressed people can openly share their thoughts...
, have emerged as discussion and support groups for suicidal individuals. Research indicates that providing more online support for suicidal people would be more effective than shutting down pro-suicide websites. The Defense Centers of Excellence have expressed interest in using social media for suicide prevention
Suicide prevention
Suicide prevention is an umbrella term for the collective efforts of local citizen organizations, mental health practitioners and related professionals to reduce the incidence of suicide....
. Facebook groups have sometimes been set up for suicide prevention purposes, including one that attracted 47,000 members.
SAMHSA's Suicide Prevention Lifeline operates on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.