Florida School Toolkit for K-12 Educators to Prevent Suicide

Risks of Social Media • A bout 60 percent of individuals ages 14 to 24 are exposed to suicide-related content through Internet sources (Dunlop, More, and Romer, 2011). • U nfortunately, digital media, such as the news, television, and movies, may encourage suicide when the suicide of the victim is glamorized and details of the suicide are provided. • S ocial media gives voice to pro-suicide groups that portray suicide as a solution and an acceptable option, which may normalize and encourage suicide for a troubled individual. • S ocial media can encourage a variety of behaviors such as cyberbullying, and 14.9 percent of students reported that they had been electronically bullied through texting or social media sites (CDC, 2018). • E motional negativity can be spread much more quickly and to more recipients on social media than through interactions in person. • O ther negative effects may include: - Access to suicidal images or methods that may normalize suicidal behavior and increase contagion. - The propensity for inaccurate information about suicide to circulate and be viewed (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2019). Social media platforms commonly used by teens involve the sharing of content that is created by the users (in this case, adolescents) rather than media professionals. This highlights the need to expand safe messaging guidelines to incorporate creators of content (adolescents) on social media. It is important for school personnel to not only model responsible social media usage, but to educate our youth on how to communicate about suicide appropriately on social media. This means emphasizing that suicide is preventable and that the intervention of one young person knowing the importance of seeking adult help can make all the difference to save a life. Best Practices for Social Media 1. Educate users on creating content. In the creation of any content, we need to teach our youth how to relay effective and safe messages to their audience. As a natural extension, safe messaging guidelines regarding reporting content relating to suicide via digital media (news, blogs, and networks over the Internet) have also been recommended. They include: a . A void hyperlinking of suicidal material, such as video or audio footage (e.g., emergency calls) or links to the scene of a suicide, especially if the location or method is clearly presented. b . A void using pictures of a person who has died by suicide. c. Avoid harmful wording in headlines. d . A void data visualizations or sensationalizing statistics about suicide (WHO, 2017). e. D o not use language that normalizes suicide or implies that it solves problems (WHO, 2017). f. D o not provide details about the location of the suicide. g. D o include information about the warning signs of suicide and where to seek help. 2. Teach teens how to help other teens. Many of the existing gatekeeper programs provide important information to students about safe messaging through social media and teach teens the suicide warning signs. Research shows that stigmatizing attitudes about suicide can be replaced with empathy, understanding, and the ability to reach out to those in need to let them know they are not alone and there is help available. Moreover, by educating our teens about suicide prevention they will know how to communicate effectively, help one another, and understand the importance of receiving adult help. 63