What do people do online in relation to suicide and self-harm?

Viewing, posting or engaging with suicide and self-harm content is common and happens in different ways. Some people actively look for information on suicide and self-harm, whereas others simply come across it by accident.

It’s not just young people who use the internet to explore suicide and self-harm. Online activity is an important part of how many people understand their experiences.

People describe many different motivations for their online activity. For example, they could be looking for:

• information to help them make sense of their experiences
• a space to share what is going on for them
• people who will understand what they are going through
• a way of making connections with others, especially if they find it harder to discuss these things face to face or with people they know
• information about methods of harm
• immediate support in a crisis.

They may look for these things for themselves or be searching on behalf of someone else.

Sometimes people engage with online content around suicide and self-harm as an alternative to self-harming. It can provide a sense of relief or another way of dealing with difficult feelings.

People may not always fully understand their own motivations or what draws them to this content, and their motivations often change over time.

Because of how search, social media and many sites work, people are not always in complete control of what they view online. Almost everyone will see or experience things online that they did not actively look for.

This may mean that they see content that might be more graphic or upsetting than they expected or wanted. Over time they may be shown more and more of this type of content, making it harder for them to avoid. People may also come across more positive content, including signposting to support, even when they didn’t search for it.

People can find suicide and self-harm content in many different online places. There are groups, # hashtags and trends on social media relating to suicide and self-harm. But it’s also available on discussion forums, news platforms, blogs, information sites, online gaming chat and other places. Some of it is publicly available and some of it is in closed groups.

People that engage with this kind of content often move across different platforms, sites and apps.

A lot of content around suicide and self-harm is produced by people with lived experience themselves (user-generated content). But it can also come from more established sources such as media outlets and charities.

Content on suicide and self-harm comes in a range of different forms. The list below is a selection of examples.

• Blogs or posts about personal experiences around suicide and self-harm
• Video stories – both recorded and live-streamed (as it is happening)
• Illustrations or photographs of self-harm including artwork, TV stills and memes (images combined with text, designed to be shared widely)
• Hoaxes, challenges or pacts that encourage people to harm themselves
• Memorial pages for people who have died by suicide
• Information from and about support services
• News feeds sharing information about recent events such as a high-profile suicide or a viral trend in social media
• Social media discussions that surface around a particular # hashtag or key word
• Comments on posts in forums, groups or people’s own sites.

People may be looking for a sense of community online and may look for places where they can share, comment on and discuss content around suicide and self-harm. Sometimes these communities exist on dedicated sites or apps. They may also start in other online spaces.

These communities evolve and develop a tone and culture where certain types of post or information are welcome, and others aren’t. Sometimes this is intentional – created through guidelines — and sometimes it's more organic.

Understanding the impact of someone’s online activity around suicide and self-harm is difficult. There are lots of factors to consider and it can be different for everyone. Find out more about what we know about the potential risks and benefits.

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References

Biddle L, Derges J, Goldsmith C, Donovan J, Gunnell D. Using the internet for suicide-related purposes: contrasting findings from young people in the community and self-harm patients admitted to hospital. PLoS ONE 13(5): e0197712. 2018

Jacob, N., Evans, R., & Scourfield, J. (2017). The influence of online images on self-harm: A qualitative study of young people aged 16–24. Journal of adolescence, 60, 140-147.

Marchant A, Hawton K, Stewart A, Montgomery P, Singaravelu V, Lloyd K, et al. (2017) A systematic review of the relationship between internet use, self-harm and suicidal behaviour in young people: The good, the bad and the unknown. PLoS ONE 12(8)

Nesi, J., Burke, T.A., Lawrence, H.R. et al. (2021) Online Self-Injury Activities among Psychiatrically Hospitalized Adolescents: Prevalence, Functions, and Perceived Consequences. Res Child Adolesc Psychopathology (2021).

Rodway C, Tham SG, Richards N, Ibrahim S, Turnbull P, Kapur N, Appleby L (2022). Online harms? Suicide-related online experience: a UK-wide case series study of young people who die by suicide. Psychological Medicine 1–12.