Temporal and Geographic Patterns of Social Media Posts About an Emerging Suicide Game
PURPOSE: Rates of suicide are increasing rapidly among youth. Social media messages and online games promoting suicide are a concern for parents and clinicians. We examined the timing and location of social media posts about one alleged youth suicide game to better understand the degree to which soc...
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ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:7164676 2023-05-15T15:45:14+02:00 Temporal and Geographic Patterns of Social Media Posts About an Emerging Suicide Game Sumner, Steven A. Galik, Stacey Mathieu, Jennifer Ward, Megan Kiley, Thomas Bartholow, Brad Dingwall, Alison Mork, Peter 2019-02-26 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7164676/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30819581 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2018.12.025 en eng http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7164676/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30819581 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2018.12.025 J Adolesc Health Article Text 2019 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2018.12.025 2020-07-05T00:35:41Z PURPOSE: Rates of suicide are increasing rapidly among youth. Social media messages and online games promoting suicide are a concern for parents and clinicians. We examined the timing and location of social media posts about one alleged youth suicide game to better understand the degree to which social media data can provide earlier public health awareness. METHODS: We conducted a search of all public social media posts and news articles on the Blue Whale Challenge (BWC), an alleged suicide game, from January 1, 2013, through June 30, 2017. Data were retrieved through multiple keyword search; sources included social media platforms Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, Tumblr, as well as blogs, forums, and news articles. Posts were classified into three categories: individual “pro”-BWC posts (support for game), individual “anti”-BWC posts (opposition to game), and media reports. Timing and location of posts were assessed. RESULTS: Overall, 95,555 social media posts and articles about the BWC were collected. In total, over one-quarter (28.3%) were “pro”-BWC. The first U.S. news article related to the BWC was published approximately 4 months after the first English language U.S. social media post about the BWC and 9 months after the first U.S. social media post in any language. By the close of the study period, “pro”-BWC posts had spread to 127 countries. CONCLUSIONS: Novel online risks to mental health, such as prosuicide games or messages, can spread rapidly and globally. Better understanding social media and Web data may allow for detection of such threats earlier than is currently possible. Text Blue whale PubMed Central (PMC) Journal of Adolescent Health 65 1 94 100 |
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Article Sumner, Steven A. Galik, Stacey Mathieu, Jennifer Ward, Megan Kiley, Thomas Bartholow, Brad Dingwall, Alison Mork, Peter Temporal and Geographic Patterns of Social Media Posts About an Emerging Suicide Game |
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PURPOSE: Rates of suicide are increasing rapidly among youth. Social media messages and online games promoting suicide are a concern for parents and clinicians. We examined the timing and location of social media posts about one alleged youth suicide game to better understand the degree to which social media data can provide earlier public health awareness. METHODS: We conducted a search of all public social media posts and news articles on the Blue Whale Challenge (BWC), an alleged suicide game, from January 1, 2013, through June 30, 2017. Data were retrieved through multiple keyword search; sources included social media platforms Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, Tumblr, as well as blogs, forums, and news articles. Posts were classified into three categories: individual “pro”-BWC posts (support for game), individual “anti”-BWC posts (opposition to game), and media reports. Timing and location of posts were assessed. RESULTS: Overall, 95,555 social media posts and articles about the BWC were collected. In total, over one-quarter (28.3%) were “pro”-BWC. The first U.S. news article related to the BWC was published approximately 4 months after the first English language U.S. social media post about the BWC and 9 months after the first U.S. social media post in any language. By the close of the study period, “pro”-BWC posts had spread to 127 countries. CONCLUSIONS: Novel online risks to mental health, such as prosuicide games or messages, can spread rapidly and globally. Better understanding social media and Web data may allow for detection of such threats earlier than is currently possible. |
format |
Text |
author |
Sumner, Steven A. Galik, Stacey Mathieu, Jennifer Ward, Megan Kiley, Thomas Bartholow, Brad Dingwall, Alison Mork, Peter |
author_facet |
Sumner, Steven A. Galik, Stacey Mathieu, Jennifer Ward, Megan Kiley, Thomas Bartholow, Brad Dingwall, Alison Mork, Peter |
author_sort |
Sumner, Steven A. |
title |
Temporal and Geographic Patterns of Social Media Posts About an Emerging Suicide Game |
title_short |
Temporal and Geographic Patterns of Social Media Posts About an Emerging Suicide Game |
title_full |
Temporal and Geographic Patterns of Social Media Posts About an Emerging Suicide Game |
title_fullStr |
Temporal and Geographic Patterns of Social Media Posts About an Emerging Suicide Game |
title_full_unstemmed |
Temporal and Geographic Patterns of Social Media Posts About an Emerging Suicide Game |
title_sort |
temporal and geographic patterns of social media posts about an emerging suicide game |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7164676/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30819581 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2018.12.025 |
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Blue whale |
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Blue whale |
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J Adolesc Health |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7164676/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30819581 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2018.12.025 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2018.12.025 |
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Journal of Adolescent Health |
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65 |
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1 |
container_start_page |
94 |
op_container_end_page |
100 |
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1766379569136271360 |