Using the internet for suicide-related purposes: Contrasting findings from young people in the community and self-harm patients admitted to hospital

Abstract. Background: The Internet is used by young people at risk of self-harm to communicate, find information, and obtain support. Aims: We aimed to identify and analyze websites potentially accessed by these young people. Method: Six search terms, relating to self-harm/suicide and depression, were input into four search engines. Websites were analyzed for access, content/purpose, and tone. Results: In all, 314 websites were included in the analysis. Most could be accessed without restriction. Sites accessed by self-harm/suicide search terms were mostly positive or preventive in tone, whereas sites accessed by the term ways to kill yourself tended to have a negative tone. Information about self-harm methods was common with specific advice on how to self-harm in 15.8% of sites, encouragement of self-harm in 7.0%, and evocative images of self-harm/suicide in 20.7%. Advice on how to get help was given in 56.1% of sites. Conclusion: Websites relating to suicide or self-harm are easily accessed. Many sites are potentially helpful. However, a significant proportion of sites are potentially harmful through normalizing or encouraging self-harm. Enquiry regarding Internet use should be routinely included while assessing young people at risk.

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Harmful or helpful? The role of the internet in self-harming and suicidal behaviour in young people

Mental Health Review Journal ◽

10.1108/mhrj-05-2013-0019 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

pp. 61-71 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Jo Bell

Keyword(s):

Young People ◽

Support Groups ◽

Suicidal Behaviour ◽

Internet Use ◽

Information Access ◽

Evidence Base ◽

Future Research ◽

The Internet ◽

Content Type ◽

Self Harm

Purpose – The internet plays an important role in the lives of self-harming and suicidal young people yet little is known about how internet use influences this behaviour. The purpose of this paper is to examine the evidence base with a view to determining directions for future research and practice. Design/methodology/approach – Literature relating to self-harming and suicidal behaviour, young people, and the internet is reviewed with a focus on content and methodology. Findings – The internet provides access to: “how-to” descriptions of suicide; unregulated/illegal online pharmacies; forums to spread this information; access to others seeking to end their own lives. Such sites are believed to elevate risk amongst vulnerable individuals. Conversely, the internet provides access to intervention and prevention activity, online support groups, advice, and personal chat. These can be a key resource in helping young people. There is a lack of consensus on what constitutes harmful and helpful online exchange, often evidenced in disparity between the perceptions of professionals and users. Research limitations/implications – Research is needed to map out a more accurate picture of suicide and self-harm resources on the internet and to establish a consensus about what constitutes harmful and helpful exchange. This needs to be based on: a comprehensive and informed range of search terms; a clear distinction between types of resource; a clear and consistent rationale for distinguishing and categorizing sites; a systematic replicable methodology for plotting the scope, content, accessibility, and popularity of web resources at a given point in time; the views of young people who use these sites, as well as practitioners and professionals. Practical implications – Practitioners need to: regularly assess the quantity, quality, and nature of self-harm/suicide focused internet use amongst service users; be aware of which sites are most appropriate for particular individuals; promote sites directed at young people that enhance effective coping. Professional mental health organizations need to find ways of ensuring that: they are consistently well represented amongst search results online; sites are readily accessible; more practitioners are trained in text-based communications. Originality/value – This paper offers a framework and rationale for future research and for those involved in service provision, policy, and practice.

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The Power of the Web: A Systematic Review of Studies of the Influence of the Internet on Self-Harm and Suicide in Young People

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0077555 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 8 (10) ◽

pp. e77555 ◽

Cited By ~ 163

Author(s):

Kate Daine ◽

Keith Hawton ◽

Vinod Singaravelu ◽

Anne Stewart ◽

Sue Simkin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Young People ◽

The Internet ◽

Self Harm ◽

The Web

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Images on the internet: A systematic review of studies on the impact of on-line sharing and viewing of self-harm related videos and photographs in young people. (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.18048 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Amanda Marchant ◽

Keith Hawton ◽

Lauren Burns ◽

Anne Stewart ◽

Ann John

Keyword(s):

Young People ◽

Internet Use ◽

Data Extraction ◽

Future Research ◽

The Internet ◽

On Line ◽

Self Harm ◽

User Perspectives ◽

The Impact ◽

Positive Impacts

BACKGROUND Given recent moves to remove or blur self-harm imagery or content posted online, it is important to understand the impact on young people of posting, viewing and reposting self-harm images. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to systematically review research related to the emotional and behavioural impact on children and young people of viewing or sharing self-harm related videos or images online. METHODS We searched databases (including EMBASE, Psychinfo and MEDLINE) from January 1991 to February 2019. Search terms were categorised into: internet use; images non-specific and specific to the internet; self-harm and suicide. Stepwise screening against specified criteria and data extraction were completed by two independent reviewers. Eligible articles were quality assessed and a narrative synthesis conducted. RESULTS 19 independent studies (20 articles) were included. Four studies focused on images, ten (11 articles) on videos and five on both. There were four quantitative, nine qualitative and seven mixed methods articles. Eleven articles were rated as high quality. There has been an increase in graphic self-harm imagery over time. Potentially harmful content congregated on platforms with little moderation, anonymity and easy searches for images. A range of reactions and intentions were reported in relation to posting or viewing images of self-harm: from empathy, a sense of solidarity and the use of images to give or receive help; to potentially harmful ones suggesting new methods, normalisation and exacerbation of self-harm. Viewing images as an alternative to self-harm or a creative outlet were regarded in two studies to be positive impacts. Reactions of anger, hostility and ambivalence were reported. There was some evidence of a role of imitation and reinforcement, driven in part, by numbers of comments and wound severity but this was not supported by time series analyses. CONCLUSIONS While the results of this review support concerns related to safety and exacerbation of self-harm through viewing images of self-harm, the potential for positive impacts should not be underestimated. Future research should evaluate the effectiveness and any potential harms of current posting restrictions, incorporate user perspectives and develop recovery-oriented content. Clinicians assessing distressed young people should ask about internet use, including access to self-harm images, as part of their assessment.

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A Study Regarding Psychological Dependency Caused by Chat on the Internet Among Young People in Tehran City

International Conference on Humanities, Literature and Management (ICHLM'15) Jan. 9-10, 2015 Dubai (UAE) ◽

10.15242/icehm.ed0115039 ◽

2015 ◽

Keyword(s):

Young People ◽

The Internet

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Methods of Countering Cyber Recruitment (Iraq Model)

Tikrit Journal For Political Science ◽

10.25130/poltic.v0i16.147 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 196

Author(s):

Hind Mohammed Abdul Jabbar Ali

Keyword(s):

Social Justice ◽

Young People ◽

Young Men ◽

The Other ◽

The Internet ◽

Information Network ◽

Political Repression ◽

Electronic Information ◽

Terrorist Organizations ◽

Other Hand

Connecting to the electronic information network (internet) became the most characteristic that distinguish this era However , the long hours which young men daily spend on the internet On the other hand ,there are many people who are waiting for the chance to talk and convince them with their views This will lead the young people to be part in the project of the “cyber armies “that involved with states and terrorist organizations This project has been able to recruitment hundreds of people every day to work in its rank . It is very difficult to control these websites because we can see the terrorist presence in all its forms in the internet In addition there are many incubation environments that feed in particular the young people minds Because they are suffering from the lack of social justice Also the unemployment, deprivation , social and political repression So , that terrorist organizations can attract young people through the internet by convincing them to their views and ideas . So these organizations will enable to be more stronger.

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ORGANIZATION AND LEGAL BASES OF RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM COUNTERING ON THE INTERNET

Vestnik Samarskogo iuridicheskogo instituta ◽

10.37523/sui.2020.38.2.020 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 141-148

Author(s):

Дмитрий Викторович Кияйкин ◽

Екатерина Андреевна Дворецкая

Keyword(s):

Young People ◽

Armed Conflict ◽

Online Community ◽

Deviant Behavior ◽

The Internet ◽

Religious Extremism ◽

The World ◽

Preventive Work ◽

Human Psyche ◽

Massive Information

В статье раскрываются особенности сущностного понимания религиозного экстремизма и организационно-правовой профилактики данного явления. Обращено внимание на важность профилактической работы в рамках предупреждения антиобщественного (девиантного) поведения. Авторами рассматриваются причины и условия формирования религиозного экстремизма и наполнения им сети Интернет. Интернет-сообщество сталкивается с массовой информационной угрозой со стороны экстремистских организаций. Это связано с катастрофически быстрым распространением радикальных идеологий, всеобщей компьютеризацией и информатизацией общественных процессов, что облегчает процесс распространения материалов, носящих экстремистский характер. Религиозный экстремизм является источником вооруженных конфликтов во всем мире. Жертвами этого страшного явления, как правило, являются дети, подростки, молодые люди, кого легко заманить в сети идеологического обмана. Религиозный экстремизм опасен не только разрушением социальных объектов и ценностей, убийствами, террором. Гораздо опаснее сама идеология экстремизма, которая искажает мировоззрение и психику человека. В этих условиях эффективным является проведение профилактических мероприятий с молодым поколением, доведение до людей важности вопроса, осуществление контроля за неблагополучными семьями, обучение молодых лиц толерантности и уважению к окружающим людям. В работе определены направления работы правоохранительных органов по вопросу совершенствования механизма противодействия распространению экстремистской информации. Определена важность международного сотрудничества. The article reveals the features of the essential understanding of religious extremism and organizational and legal prevention of this phenomenon. Attention is drawn to the importance of preventive work as part of the prevention of antisocial (deviant) behavior. The authors consider the reasons and conditions for the formation of religious extremism and the filling of the Internet. The online community is facing a massive information threat from extremist organizations. This is due to the catastrophically lightning-fast spread of radical ideologies, the general computerization and informatization of social processes, which facilitates the process of distributing materials of an extremist nature. Religious extremism is a source of armed conflict throughout the world. The victims of this terrible phenomenon, as a rule, are children, adolescents, young people and girls - whom it is easy to lure into networks of ideological deception. Religious extremism is dangerous not only the destruction of social objects and values, murders, terror. The ideology of extremism itself, which distorts the worldview and the human psyche, is much more dangerous. Religious extremism is a source of armed conflict throughout the world. The victims of this terrible phenomenon, as a rule, are children, adolescents, young people and girls - whom it is easy to lure into networks of ideological deception. Religious extremism is dangerous not only the destruction of social objects and values, murders, terror. The ideology of extremism itself, which distorts the worldview and the human psyche, is much more dangerous.

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