The+Internet’s+Megaphone+Effect+on+the+Topic+of+Suicide

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The age of the internet brought with it both a literal and metaphorical whole new world of information and ideas never seen. Different forms of communications and types of entertainment were created and the way information was sent and received was forever changed. That being said, it has to be acknowledge that with all the critical progress the internet ushered in, malignant forms of information and communication were also empowered to a certain degree. However, this new era in human communication is still relatively young and new, so its impact on the different aspects of our society are still being studied which limits the conclusiveness of any report. Suicide is one of those topics that is being considered as having evolved along with the internet. Whether that connection is a positive or negative one remains to be seen. = =

From its inspection, the internet opened the gate to a whole new world of instant communication. Many people were for the first time able to communicate with others around the world. The majority of this communication was done through the use of virtual chat rooms and social media websites. As Quijin Cheng points out in his research paper on Chinese microblog users, there begun to be a correlation between users who talk about suicide with others, and the possibility that that individual might commit suicide. Finding such correlation led Cheng to come up with a way to quantify that probability. That type of trend is also what led various health officials and organizations to take notice and consider the matter. The American Journal of Public Health had an entry with such an issue as its focus. Specifically looking at social media sites and its effects on suicide, it listed and analyzed briefly the pros and cons of its relationship to the internet. In this article, the author doesn’t necessarily take a position in his conclusion about whether the overall effect is “good or bad” but rather simply states that the connection between the internet and suicide is relatively new and therefore further research needs to be done to derive a solid conclusion. This was something that the previous article on Chinese microblogs echoed in its discussion section as well. A repeating factor between the latter two articles begins to surface in the form of a good amount of uncertainty as to whether the overall impact of the topic of suicide is good or bad. As pointed out in both Luxton and Bell’s papers respectively, the internet offers both a chance to help those suffering from suicidal thoughts as well as a chance for users to be drawn to sites and services that do the opposite, such as Bell’s “extreme communities.” The fourth article touches on how to deal with the problems highlighted in the previous three sources through legal restrictions. However, Mishara’s paper also points out that implementing any type of legal restrictions or penalties for users on the internet is often very difficult because of the ongoing debate as to how much the first amendment applies to the internet. = =

A quick run-through of the facts presented so far leads one to believe that the answer to whether society benefits from the internet’s relationship with the topic of suicide is convoluted and complex. This for the most part is true. The internet seems to act not so much as a direct contributor to how we deal with suicide, but as more of a figurative megaphone on which all sides of the topic are amplified. However, when considering this “megaphone” effect the consequence is that the overwhelming majority of negative content and interactions overshadows the beneficial aspects the internet offers. Nothing exemplifies this better than how cluster suicides occur right after a highly-televised suicide; the victims of these suicides usually take note of what they see on TV and use it to carry out their own (Thompson). The same thing takes place on the internet but on a much grander and much more uncensored scale. The amount of information available to an individual on the subject vastly surpasses that of past generations. Websites that contain information on different methods of suicide that anyone can carry out exists and are often difficult to control due to the freedom that website creators inherently have through the first amendment. Other website’s such as the Chinese social media platform Weboo, serve as a base of operations for extreme communities such as pro-suicide groups in which people egg people on to commit suicide, or talk about coordinating their suicides so as to carry them out together. And what they overshadow are the websites that dedicate themselves to prevent or combat these pro suicide platforms. As Thompson points out, websites that contain graphic and very explicitly pro suicide information do not contain any links or information on how to reach out for help to deal with their suicidal thoughts, tendencies and perhaps their accompanying mental health issues. On the contrary, these websites, specifically the ones that contain chat rooms or direct messaging of sorts, often respond negatively to anyone who tries to log on to these websites with the goal of deterring people from suicide or trying to offer help. These people are often shunned by the other members and often kicked from the site, unable to log back in with the same profile. Before the age of the internet, these types of interactions56 would have been nearly impossible. Most likely extreme community that would have tried to form and communicate about such topics would have been found out and reported about eventually and the discreteness that today’s users enjoy would be all but gone. However, with the internet, these communities can now go seemingly unnoticed until it’s too late. = =

The major forces at work in this type of situations are mental health issues and the ways that those issues are treated and vis versa, ignored. The internet, through its amplification, seems to amplify the voices and actions of those that dwell on the negative side of the topic. A prime example of this is the growing problem of cyber-bullying. While suicide an outcome of what can occur because of an untreated mental illness or issue, cyber-bullying can often be the cause. According to some studies, (Hoff and Mitchell) the main cause of cyber-bullying is caused by negative emotions related to relationships. These negative emotions find their way pushed onto others through the internet in forms of harassment in message threads and chat rooms. Often, the anonymous statues of users leads them to think that no repercussions will come of their misdeeds, and consequently, changes the way the interact with people online as opposed to and interaction with someone in real life. Things one person thought they would never say in someone else now seems so easy to do, as cyberbullies sometimes forget that their victims are other people who will no doubt react to their harassment in a negative way. These types of interactions make their rounds on the internet all the time, uncensored and uncheck. The fact of the matter is, that the internet is a powerful new form of speech, and as such is protected by government’s constitutions all over the world. In relation to suicide, it only adds to the amount of stress and negative influence that individuals can encounter while surfing online. Furthermore, the counter to all this is muted by the cult like influence that Bell’s extreme communities exhibit on an individual user. Just like an outsider trying to pry his way in to help others, a member or user of these suicide chat rooms/website can be exercised of any thought or statement that drifts away from the community’s opinions and points of views. Combine this with the fact that an increase in an individual’s internet usage time leads them to spend less time on actual physical relationships (Nie and Erbring), and its easy to see just how confined a person who finds themselves in this type of situation can feel. Another result can be a bottleneck effect in which a person’s way of communicating with others narrows down to just what the internet has to offer. = =

Although most of the evidence that is present at the moment tilts the scale in favor of those who argue that the internet has been an overall detriment to society, there is a silver lining of sorts. That sliver of hope lies in the future studies and work that has yet to be done on these types of subjects and topics. The internet is a relatively new medium through which human communication is still evolving in. Therefore, it would be a little naïve to argue that these detrimental aspects cant be countered or reversed. As mentioned before, there are currently resources and websites that are offering help to those in need of it when it comes to suicide. Given time, these resources will most likely develop and adapt to the changing circumstances on the condition that more research is done on matter. One of the biggest consensus among those who are currently putting effort toward these types of studies all agree that it is necessary to continue and further these types of analysis. As technology advances, so must our understanding of how it impacts society

=__Works Cited__= = =

Bell, Vaughan. "Online Information, Extreme Communities and Internet Therapy: Is the Internet Good for Our Mental Health?." Journal of Mental Health, vol. 16, no. 4, Aug. 2007,

Campbell, Marilyn A. “Cyber Bullying: An Old Problem in a New Guise?” Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling, vol. 15, no. 1, 2005, pp. 68–76., doi:10.1375/ajgc.15.1.68.

Cheng, Qijin, et al. "Suicide Communication on Social Media and Its Psychological Mechanisms: An Examination of Chinese Microblog Users." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 12, no. 9, 11 Sept. 2015,

Dianne L. Hoff, Sidney N. Mitchell, (2009) "Cyberbullying: causes, effects, and remedies", Journal of Educational Administration, Vol. 47 Issue: 5, pp.652-665, doi: 10.1108/09578230910981107

Luxton, I David D.1. "Social Media and Suicide: A Public Health Perspective." American Journal of Public Health, vol. 102, no. S2, May2012 Supplement 2,

Thompson, Susan. “The Internet and Its Potential Influence on Suicide.” Psychiatric Bulletin, 1 Aug. 1999.

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