Detecting Changes in Suicide Content Manifested in Social Media Following Celebrity Suicides

Abstract

<p class="first" id="P1">The Werther effect describes the increased rate of completed or attempted suicides following the depiction of an individual’s suicide in the media, typically a celebrity. We present findings on the prevalence of this effect in an online platform: r/SuicideWatch on Reddit. We examine both the posting activity and post content after the death of ten high-profile suicides. Posting activity increases following reports of celebrity suicides, and post content exhibits considerable changes that indicate increased suicidal ideation. Specifically, we observe that post-celebrity suicide content is more likely to be inward focused, manifest decreased social concerns, and laden with greater anxiety, anger, and negative emotion. Topic model analysis further reveals content in this period to switch to a more derogatory tone that bears evidence of self-harm and suicidal tendencies. We discuss the implications of our findings in enabling better community support to psychologically vulnerable populations, and the potential of building suicide prevention interventions following high-profile suicides. </p>