SOCIAL MEDIA:A

REASON BEHIND
SUICIDE

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 Dictionary Meaning: the act of killing yourself deliberately
• Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States,
according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• According to AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION,
frequently suicide
WHAT IS occurs in the context of a major depressive episode, but it may
SUICIDE? also occur
as a result of a substance use or other disorder. It sometimes
occurs in the
absence of any psychiatric disorder, especially in untenable
situations,
such as extreme or prolonged bereavement or declining health

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 SUICIDE WARNING SIGNS

• Learn how to recognize the danger signals.

Be concerned if someone you know:
• Has trouble eating or sleeping
• Exhibits drastic changes in behavior
• Withdraws from friends or social activities
• Prepares for death by writing a will and making final arrangements
• Gives away prized possessions
• Has attempted suicide before
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• Takes unnecessary risks
• Has recently experienced serious losses
• Seems preoccupied with death and dying
• Loses interest in his or her personal appearance
• Increases alcohol or drug use
 • Economic and Social Challeng:
Anyone experiencing unemployment, isolation, legal
troubles, may drive someone to thoughts of suicide.
• Genetic and Familial Risk Factor:
Suicide's connection to genetic or familial factors is
complicated, and experts caution that there is
SUICIDE RISK no foolproof way to tell whether a particular individual is at
heightened risk of suicide based on their family history alone.
FACTORS But on a population level, the evidence does suggest that
genes do appear to play a role in suicide risk, and the mental
illnesses that can heighten the chance of suicide affect some
families more severely than others.Thus, it can be useful to be
aware of an individual's family history of suicide and take it
into account when assessing their own risk.
 Table 2. Correlation between suicides happened before and during the
economic crisis, suicide victims’ employment status and health status.

Merzagora I, Mugellini G, Amadasi A, Travaini G (2016) Suicide Risk and the Economic Crisis: An Exploratory Analysis of the Case of Milan.
PLOS ONE 11(12): e0166244. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0166244
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0166244
MENTAL HEALTH AND SUICIDE

DEPRESSION
Depression is a key risk factor for suicide, and evidence suggests that a majority of those who take their own life have
depression or another mood disorder.

Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder is a serious mood disorder characterized by dramatic shifts between periods of depression and high-energy
phases (known as mania or hypomania). Both phases of bipolar disorder are associated with a heightened risk of suicide.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is a mental health condition that develops in the aftermath of a traumatic event such
as sexual violence, a natural disaster, military combat, or a serious accident. Because PTSD can cause serious emotional
turmoil and markedly reduce someone's quality of life, it is sometimes implicated in suicide.
 MENTAL HEALTH AND SUICIDE

Borderline Personality Disorder

Substance Abuse
(BPD) Other mental health disorders—including
Evidence suggests that those with substance ADHD, autism, anxiety, and others—have
Evidence suggests that approximately 70
use disorders are approximately 6 times also been shown in research to confer a
percent of those with BPD will attempt
more likely to die by suicide than the heightened risk of suicide.
suicide, and as many as 10 percent will die
general population.
by it.
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 • Teens' use of social media has grown over the
past decade, so too has the suicide rate among
SOCIAL MEDIA younger people, with suicide now being the
AND SUICIDE second leading cause of death among those ages
10 to 34. Many have suggested that social media
is driving the increased suicide risk.

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 There are several specific ways that social media can
increase risk for prosuicide behavior:
➢Cyberbullying or Cyber harassment
➢Suicide pact
SOCIAL MEDIA ➢Media contagion effect
AND SUICIDE ➢Video sharing websites
➢FOMO

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 Cyberbullying typically refers to when a child is
intentionally and repeatedly targeted by another child or
teen in the form of threats or harassments at social media.
CYBERBULLYING Cyber harassment refer to same actions when involve
AND CYBER adults.

HARASSMENT ➢Cyberbullying has increased more than doubled from

18% (in 2007) to 37% (in 2019)
➢Students who experienced bullying or cyberbullying
are nearly 2 times more likely to attempt suicide.
 • Cyberbullying, when directly or indirectly linked to
suicide, has been referred to as cyberbullicide .There
are many stories which ends with the suicide of victim
of cyberbullying.
CYBER • The Megan Meier case(1992-2006)
BULLYING • Hope Witsell suicide(1996-2009)
STORIES • Jessica logan suicide(1990-2008)
• Tyler Clementi case(1991-2010)
• Amanda Todd case(1996-2012)
 • An agreement between 2 or more people to die by
suicide at a particular time and often by the same lethal
means.
• Suicide pact develop through use of internet is called
SUICIDE PACT Cybersuicide Pact.
• The first documented use of the Internet to form a
suicide pact was reported in Japan in 2000.
• More common form of suicide in Japan.
 ➢ Suicide contagion is exposure to the suicide or
suicidal behaviors

➢ media reports of suicide can result in an

increase in suicide and suicidal behaviors.

SUICIDE ➢ Werther effect’ explains a case of suicide that occurs as

CONTAGION a result of a person copying cases of suicidal behaviors

seen or heard of from various online platforms.

➢ Werther effect also referred to as copycat suicide and it

explains the process of suicide contagion.

➢ List of 26 prominent figure’s suicides had been reported

in the Japanese media between 2010 and 2014.
 ➢FOMO—Fear of Missing Out results from the constant
use of social media.
➢It is a form of anxiety aroused by the fear that others
might be having exciting and rewarding experiences
FOMO from which one is missing out on.
➢It results in the feeling of depression and life
dissatisfaction and ultimately leads toward the suicidal
thoughts
 • Sarah Coyne, PhD, lead author and professor of human
development at BYU,“Research shows that girls and women, in
SOCIAL MEDIA general, are very relationally attuned and sensitive to
INCREASES interpersonal stressors, and social media is all about
SUICIDE RISK IN relationships," she said. These tendencies may make them more
prone to negative mental health effects, due to constant
GIRLS: comparison, fear of missing out, and potential cyberbullying
experienced online.
 ➢Reports of suicide should not be repetitive, as
prolonged exposure can increase the likelihood of
suicide contagion.
STEPS IN
➢ Reports should not divulge detailed descriptions
REDUCING of the method used to avoid possible duplication.
SUICIDES DUE
➢Reports should not glorify the victim and should
TO MEDIA not imply that suicide was effective in achieving a
USAGE personal goal such as gaining media attention.
➢emergency contacts should be provided for those
at risk for suicide.