According to an article published in BMJ, people
researching suicidal methods on the Internet are more likely to find
sites that promote suicide instead of ones that provide help and
support.
It is known that suicidal behavior is influenced by the way the media
covers suicides and how television and film approach the topic. These
media have even been shown to impact the choice of suicidal method
used. However, there is little research on how the Internet influences
this type of behavior.
Recently, the popular press has reported on the availability and
influence of Internet sites and web forums that encourage suicide in
young people. The research literature, however, is missing a systematic
review on how easy it is to find these types of site on the Internet
and exactly what information is offered on them.
This led researchers from the Universities of Bristol, Oxford and
Manchester to further study suicide on the Internet. The team
approached the topic by simulating a typical search on Google, Yahoo,
MSN, and ASK, that a typical person would perform while seeking
information on suicidal methods and instructions for suicide. They used
12 simple search terms:
suicide
suicide methods
suicide sure methods
most effective methods of suicide
methods of suicide
ways to commit suicide
how to commit suicide
how to kill yourself
easy suicide methods
best suicide methods
pain-free suicide
quick suicide
A total of 480 web addresses (the first ten from each search) and 240
unique sites were retrieved, visited, and viewed. A little less than
half of the 240 sites contained information on suicidal methods. About
20% (90 of 240) were sites whose primary focus was suicide;
the researchers coded half of these as encouraging, promoting, or
facilitating suicide.
Contrastingly, 13% (62 of 480) of sites focused on suicide
prevention or offered support, and 12% (59 of 480) sites forbade or
discouraged suicide.
Of sites that were dedicated to suicide and sites with factual
information, almost all offered
information about suicidal methods. The researchers noted that about
21% of support and prevention sites, 55% of academic or policy sites,
and all news reports contained information on methods of suicide.
Another interesting finding was that Google and Yahoo returned the most
sites dedicated to suicide, while MSN retrieved the highest number of
sites focusing on prevention, support, academics, and policy.
The three sites that occurred most frequently in the search promoted
suicide, and Wikipedia's informational article on suicide was fourth.
These top four sites all contained detailed information on suicidal
methodology, specifically addressing method speed, certainty, and
potential amount of pain.
In the UK, suicide sites are legal and there is no regulation. Parents
use filtering software to block access to these sites and some internet
provides self-regulate in an attempt to reduce any harm that may come
from accessing pro-suicide site. The authors note, however, that trying
to remove some of the most
detailed technical descriptions of methods is virtually impossible.
"It may be more fruitful for service providers to pursue website
optimisation strategies to maximise the likelihood that suicidal people
access helpful rather than potentially harmful sites in times of
crisis," conclude the authors.
Suicide and the Internet
Lucy Biddle, Jenny Donovan, Keith Hawton, Navneet Kapur, David Gunnell
BMJ. Volume 336: p. 880. (12 April 2008).
Click
Here to See Article Online
: Peter M Crosta