Role of Social Media in Risk and Prevention of Suicide - An Overview

Introduction:

Social media connects with people worldwide and offers limitless entertainment, so it has some positive intentions. But endless scrolling might have unfavorable effects as well. Research findings indicate that the utilization of social media among young adults triples the chances of experiencing depression, posing a considerable risk of suicidal ideation and behaviors within a significant portion of the population. With the rise of social media, certain concepts have become more well-known, and it has become the go-to source for up-to-the-minute news on events around the globe. They are accompanied by the requirement for equilibrium to avoid the negative implications on mental health and well-being. Regrettably, both directly and indirectly, the use of social media has increased the prevalence of suicide. Social media use has increased the risk factors for suicide and its associated behaviors.

What Is Social Media?

Social media are websites and applications facilitating communication, participation, information sharing, and teamwork. Individuals utilize social media platforms to maintain connections with friends, family members, and neighbors. The advent of social media has facilitated convenient online communication between individuals. Social media encompasses various applications and platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, which enable users to share content, communicate online, and establish online communities. Social media is utilized by over 4.7 billion people, accounting for approximately 60% of the global population.

What Are the Social Media Benefits?

Teens can use social media to construct online identities, engage with others, and build social networks. These networks can assist youth, particularly those excluded, with impairments or chronic illnesses. Teenagers also utilize social media for self-expression and entertainment. Furthermore, the platforms can inform teenagers about current events, enable cross-border communication, and impart knowledge on various topics, including good habits. Teenagers may even benefit from using social media that is amusing, entertaining, or that offers a meaningful connection to peers and an extensive social network.

What Are the Risks of Social Media?

Social media platforms and the Internet both offer a vast amount of information on the problem of suicide. Pro-suicide websites and chat rooms that discussed broad concerns related to suicide. The concept of the algorithm's operation is well-known. The more time we dedicate to using our phones, the algorithm will prioritize presenting more captivating content to capture and sustain our attention. Spending more time on our phones will provide more engaging content to capture and hold our attention. Breaking the habit of incessantly checking platforms like Instagram or TikTok and constantly refreshing for new content can be difficult, yet our physical and emotional health must take regular breaks.

What Is Suicide?

Suicide is a tragic act that should be prioritized as a severe global health issue. Particularly for young individuals, suicide is a prominent cause of death. It is just the deliberate act of someone taking their own life. Some definitions of suicide state that it occurs when a person intentionally harms themselves to end their life. It can also be described as intentional conduct used to control or eliminate severe pain levels in one's present situation. The issue of suicide is a worldwide concern that impacts individuals across different age groups, ethnicities, socioeconomic backgrounds, and geographical regions. Suicidal tendencies may vary by age group, sex, and geographical location, but none is immune to them.

What Are the Warning Signs of Suicide?

Watch for warning signals, such as complaining about being a burden, to determine if someone is at risk of suicide.

• A feeling of hopelessness.

• Lack of interest in all activities.

• Social disengagement and isolation.

• Increased anxiety.

• Talking about being entrapped or experiencing excruciating agony.

• Increased use of drugs.

• Nervousness and impatience.

• Seeking a route to obtain lethal weapons.

• Increased wrath or anger.

• Extreme changes in attitude.

• Expressing a lack of optimism.

• Too much or less sleep.

• Irregular sleep and eating patterns.

• Expressing a desire to die.

• Preparing to commit suicide.

What Are the Factors That Raise the Risk of Suicide?

A variety of factors influence suicide risk. An isolated event or circumstance causes suicide. Instead, various factors might enhance individual, relational, community, and societal risk. These risk factors are conditions or problems that can raise the likelihood of a suicide attempt. Circumstances that increase suicide risk include the following.

Individual Risk Factors:

These unique elements raise risk:

• Attempted suicide in the past.

• History of depression and other mental disorders.

• Severe sickness, like persistent pain.

• Criminal and legal issues.

• Troubles with money or job loss.

• Aggressive or impulsive behaviors.

• Substance abuse.

• Either recently or in the past, unpleasant childhood memories.

• A feeling of helplessness.

• Victimization or infliction of violence.

Relationship Risk Factors:

These harmful or painful relationship events raise the risk by:

• Bullying.

• Suicide experience in the family or with loved ones.

• Loss of connections.

• Partnerships that are violent or in high conflict.

• Isolated from society.

Community Risk Factors:

Some complex problems in a person's community raise risk:

• Lack of healthcare accessibility.

• Suicides are on the rise in the community.

• Adoption culture stress.

• Violence in the community.

• Historical harm.

• Discrimination.

Societal Risk Factors:

These societal, cultural, and environmental elements that raise this risk include:

• The stigma is connected to seeking treatment and having a mental illness.

• Those at risk have easy access to fatal suicide methods.

• Suicide depictions in the media are dangerous.

What Factors Reduce the Risk of Suicide?

Suicide is preventable because there are numerous warning signals that, if recognized early enough, can be treated. Many factors reduce the chance of suicide. Like risk factors, various personal, interpersonal, societal, and environmental factors can prevent suicide. Everyone can prevent suicide. Communities and society can take action to help people and keep them safe from suicidal thoughts and deeds. Situations that lower the chance of suicide include the following:

Individual Protective Factors:

Specific individual characteristics reduce the chance of suicide:

• Effective problem-solving and coping mechanisms.

• The reasons to live (for example, family, friends, pets, etc.).

• An intense sense of cultural identification.

Relationship Protective Factors:

Some positive interpersonal interactions reduce the risk of suicide:

• Assistance from friends, family, and partners.

• Being socially linked.

Community Protective Factors:

Some supportive communal experiences reduce the risk of suicide:

• Engaging in community involvement, educational institutions, and other social organizations.

• Accessibility to reliable, high-quality medical and mental health services.

Societal Protective Factors:

Several societal, cultural, and environmental factors reduce the likelihood of suicide:

• Fewer risk groups have access to deadly suicide methods.

• Suicide is prohibited by culture, religion, or morality.

What Is Some Parenting Advice on Safe Social Media Use to Prevent Suicide?

• Be Familiar With The Apps: Learn how to utilize the applications by installing them on device. Understanding how the applications and their algorithm operate can help parents set reasonable boundaries because they are more powerful than our will.

• Understand All Social Media Is an Advertisement: This is more about branding one's image than it is about actually marketing products. Our social media activity sends messages to other users about how we want to be seen. Therefore, a self-promotional message is ingrained in every social media post and is strengthened by the money of likes and shares.

• Create A Media Plan: There is a template for developmentally appropriate media use that children and teenagers can co-create with their parents. This strategy can take the place of ongoing discussions about gadget usage.

• Have an Honest Conversation: It is essential to discuss social media with teenagers to protect their mental health. Encourage open discussions regarding the importance of safeguarding one's privacy, the lasting impact of online posts, and the signs of cyberbullying, whether individuals are downloading apps or have already created profiles.

• Listen to Teen: These discussions involve mutual participation, as upholding an open communication channel entails actively listening to their thoughts and addressing their concerns regarding their online experiences.

• Model Good Social Media Behavior: Teens are still watching and observing, so setting a good example by acting how would like them to be. Setting time restrictions, maintaining a pleasant attitude, and refraining from scrolling at the dinner table.

• Non-negotiable Limits: Social media accounts be made private, that access to social media during the school day be disabled, and gadgets not be used in the bedroom at night.

What Are the Steps to Protecting Teen From Social Media Use?

Taking measures to promote responsible social media usage and reduce some of its negative impacts, consider the following suggestions:

• Set Reasonable Limits: Engage in a conversation with the teenager on effective strategies to prevent social media from disrupting their daily activities, such as hobbies, relaxation, mealtimes, and academic commitments. Keep phones and tablets out of teenagers' bedrooms and promote a bedtime routine free of electronic media use. Set an example by abiding by these guidelines.

• Monitor the Teen's Accounts: Inform the teenager that their social media profiles will undergo regular monitoring, with a minimum frequency of at least once a week or more.

• Explain What Is Not Ok: Encourage the teen to refrain from spreading rumors, harassing others, or harming their image, whether offline or online. Discuss with the teen what information is acceptable and secure to post on social media.

• Encourage the Peers to Interact in Person: Teenagers at risk for social anxiety should pay special attention to this.

• Talk About Social Media: Talk about the use of social media. Ask the adolescent how they use social media and how it makes them feel. Remind the adolescent that the images on social media are frequently inflated.

Conclusion:

Public health aims to safeguard and improve the overall welfare of entire populations, including communities that span from small towns to large nations. As we know it now, social media has established virtual communities with no physical borders. We have provided evidence suggesting that social media use by vulnerable groups participating in these online networks may be dangerous. Examples of current social media-based preventative applications and initiatives that take a public health-based approach are also offered. Suicide prevention can benefit communities by promoting community members' health and well-being, empowering communities to recognize and facilitate interventions, and building the ability of local healthcare providers and other gatekeepers. It makes sense to approach the problem and direct prevention activities by framing the discussion of social media and suicide from a public health perspective.