Social media and suicide prevention: a systematic review
Abstract
AIM: Social media platforms are commonly used for the expression of suicidal thoughts and feelings, particularly by young people. Despite this, little is known about the ways in which social media can be used for suicide prevention. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review to identify current evidence pertaining to the ways in which social media are currently used as a tool for suicide prevention. METHODS: Medline, PsycInfo, Embase, CINHAL and the Cochrane Library were searched for articles published between 1991 and April 2014. English language articles with a focus on suicide-related behaviour and social media were included. No exclusion was placed on study design. RESULTS: Thirty studies were included; 4 described the development of social media sites designed for suicide prevention, 6 examined the potential of social media in terms of its ability to reach or identify people at risk of suicide, 15 examined the ways in which people used social media for suicide prevention-related purposes, and 5 examined the experiences of people who had used social media sites for suicide prevention purposes. No intervention studies were identified. CONCLUSION: Social media platforms can reach large numbers of otherwise hard-to-engage individuals, may allow others to intervene following an expression of suicidal ideation online, and provide an anonymous, accessible and non-judgmental forum for sharing experiences. Challenges include difficulties controlling user behaviour and accurately assessing risk, issues relating to privacy and confidentiality and the possibility of contagion. Social media appears to hold significant potential for suicide prevention; however, additional research into its safety and efficacy is required.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Cites
Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media
Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010) · Business Horizons · doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2009.09.003 · Cited by 17,875 · cited 2× · see citing works
“As such, social media has been defined as a group of mobile and Internet-based applications that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated contents.9,10 Systematic categorization of social media is difficult due to the fact that cyberspace is constantly evolving; however, commonly used forms of social media in…”
BackgroundSocial network sites: definition, history, and scholarship
boyd, D. M., & Ellison, N. B. (2007) · Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication · doi:10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00393.x · Cited by 16,251 · see citing works
Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions Version 5.0.1. The Cochrane Collaboration
Higgins, J., Green, S. R., & Higgins, J. (2008) · Cited by 5,544 · see citing works
Social media and suicide: A public health perspective
Luxton, D. D., June, J. D., & Fairall, J. M. (2012) · American Journal of Public Health · doi:10.2105/ajph.2011.300608 · Cited by 469 · see citing works
Tracking suicide risk factors through Twitter in the US.
Jashinsky, J., Burton, S. H., Hanson, C., West, J. H., Giraud-Carrier, C., Barnes, M. D., & Argyle, T. (2014) · Crisis · doi:10.1027/0227-5910/a000234 · Cited by 363 · see citing works
Media Roles in Suicide Prevention: A Systematic Review
Sisask, M., & Värnik, A. (2012) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph9010123 · Cited by 359 · see citing works
Robinson, J., Cox, G., Malone, A., Williamson, M. K., Baldwin, G., Fletcher, K., & O’Brien, M. (2012) · Crisis · doi:10.1027/0227-5910/a000168 · Cited by 286 · see citing works
Self-citationRapid, responsive, relevant (R3) research: a call for a rapid learning health research enterprise
Riley, W. T., Glasgow, R. E., Etheredge, L., & Abernethy, A. P. (2013) · Clinical and Translational Medicine · doi:10.1186/2001-1326-2-10 · Cited by 267 · see citing works
Biddle, L., Donovan, J., Hawton, K., Kapur, N., & Gunnell, D. (2008) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.39525.442674.ad · Cited by 234 · see citing works
Calear, A. L., & Christensen, H. (2010) · Medical Journal of Australia · doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2010.tb03686.x · Cited by 220 · see citing works
Emotional support and suicide prevention through the Internet: A field project report
Barak, A. (2005) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2005.08.001 · Cited by 200 · see citing works
Rice, S. M., Goodall, J., Hetrick, S. E., Parker, A. G., Gilbertson, T., Amminger, G. P., Davey, C. G., McGorry, P. D., Gleeson, J., & Alvarez-Jimenez, M. (2014) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/jmir.3304 · Cited by 194 · see citing works
Self-citationUnderstanding Self-Harm and Suicide Websites
Baker, D., & Fortune, S. A. (2008) · Crisis · doi:10.1027/0227-5910.29.3.118 · Cited by 145 · see citing works
Suicide Announcement on Facebook
Ruder, T. D., Hatch, G. M., Ampanozi, G., Thali, M. J., & Fischer, N. (2011) · Crisis · doi:10.1027/0227-5910/a000086 · Cited by 142 · see citing works
Suicide within 12 months of mental health service contact in different age and diagnostic groups
Hunt, I. M., Kapur, N., Robinson, J., Shaw, J. J., Flynn, S., Bailey, H., Meehan, J., Bickley, H., Parsons, R., Burns, J., et al. (2006) · The British Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1192/bjp.188.2.135 · Cited by 139 · see citing works
Self-citationPreventing Suicide in Young People: Systematic Review
Robinson, J., Hetrick, S. E., & Martin, C. (2011) · Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.3109/00048674.2010.511147 · Cited by 129 · see citing works
Self-citationPredicting National Suicide Numbers with Social Media Data
Won, H., Myung, W., Song, G.-Y., Lee, W.-H., Kim, J., Carroll, B. J., & Kim, D. K. (2013) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0061809 · Cited by 120 · see citing works
Parasuicide online: Can suicide websites trigger suicidal behaviour in predisposed adolescents?
Becker, K., Mayer, M., Nagenborg, M., El‐Faddagh, M., & Schmidt, M. H. (2004) · Nordic Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1080/08039480410005602 · Cited by 116 · see citing works
Caught in the Web: A Review of Web-Based Suicide Prevention
Lai, M. H., Maniam, T., Chan, L. F., & Ravindran, A. V. (2014) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/jmir.2973 · Cited by 113 · see citing works
Cybersuicide: The Role of Interactive Suicide Notes on the Internet
Baume, P., Cantor, C. H., & Rolfe, A. (1997) · Crisis · doi:10.1027/0227-5910.18.2.73 · Cited by 112 · see citing works
Examining Suicide-Risk Individuals Who Go Online for Suicide-Related Purposes
Harris, K. M., McLean, J. P., & Sheffield, J. K. (2009) · Archives of Suicide Research · doi:10.1080/13811110903044419 · Cited by 111 · see citing works
Internet support groups for suicide survivors: A new mode for gaining bereavement assistance
Feigelman, W., Gorman, B. S., Beal, K. C., & Jordan, J. R. (2008) · OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying · doi:10.2190/om.57.3.a · Cited by 111 · see citing works
Doing being ‘on the edge’: managing the dilemma of being authentically suicidal in an online forum
Horne, J., & Wiggins, S. (2009) · Sociology of Health & Illness · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9566.2008.01130.x · Cited by 110 · see citing works
Robinson, J., Hetrick, S., Cox, G., Bendall, S., Yuen, H. P., Yung, A., & Pirkis, J. (2016) · Early Intervention in Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/eip.12137 · Cited by 108 · cited 1× · see citing works
“among suicidal young people, and found it to be safe, acceptable and potentially efficacious.(7,8) The technological foundations of Web 2.”
BackgroundSelf-citationAdolescent Suicide Statements on MySpace
Cash, S. J., Thelwall, M. A., Peck, S. N., Ferrell, J. Z., & Bridge, J. A. (2013) · Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking · doi:10.1089/cyber.2012.0098 · Cited by 100 · see citing works
Silenzio, V., Duberstein, P. R., Tang, W., Lu, N., Tu, X. M., & Homan, C. M. (2009) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.05.029 · Cited by 93 · see citing works
Internet Message Boards for Suicidal People: A Typology of Users
Eichenberg, C. (2008) · CyberPsychology & Behavior · doi:10.1089/cpb.2007.9924 · Cited by 93 · see citing works
Goldney, R. D. (2005) · Crisis · doi:10.1027/0227-5910.26.3.128 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
Barak, A., & Miron, O. (2005) · Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior · doi:10.1521/suli.2005.35.5.507 · Cited by 82 · see citing works
Responses to a Self-Presented Suicide Attempt in Social Media
Fu, K., Cheng, Q., Wong, P. W. C., & Yip, P. S. F. (2013) · Crisis · doi:10.1027/0227-5910/a000221 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Burning Charcoal: A Novel and Contagious Method of Suicide in Asia
Lee, D. T. S., Chan, K. P. M., Lee, S., et al. (2002) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.59.3.293 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Helper therapy in an online suicide prevention community
Greidanus, E., & Everall, R. D. (2010) · British Journal of Guidance and Counselling · doi:10.1080/03069881003600991 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Emotional First Aid for a Suicide Crisis: Comparison between Telephonic Hotline and Internet
Gilat, I., & Shahar, G. (2007) · Psychiatry · doi:10.1521/psyc.2007.70.1.12 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Robinson, J., Hetrick, S., Cox, G., Bendall, S., Yung, A., & Pirkis, J. (2015) · Early Intervention in Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/eip.12136 · Cited by 71 · cited 1× · see citing works
“among suicidal young people, and found it to be safe, acceptable and potentially efficacious.(7,8) The technological foundations of Web 2.”
BackgroundSelf-citationThe Internet - A New Source of Data on Suicide, Depression and Anxiety: A Preliminary Study
Fekete, S. (2002) · Archives of Suicide Research · doi:10.1080/13811110214533 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
How the Internet is changing the experience of bereavement by suicide: A qualitative study in the UK
Chapple, A., & Ziébland, S. (2010) · Health An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health Illness and Medicine · doi:10.1177/1363459309360792 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
What Do the Bereaved by Suicide Communicate in Online Support Groups?: A Content Analysis
Schotanus-Dijkstra, M., Havinga, P., van Ballegooijen, W., Delfosse, L., Mokkenstorm, J., & Boon, B. (2014) · Crisis · doi:10.1027/0227-5910/a000225 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Ethical Considerations and Social Media: A Case of Suicidal Postings on Facebook
Lehavot, K., Ben‐Zeev, D., & Neville, R. E. (2012) · Journal of Dual Diagnosis · doi:10.1080/15504263.2012.718928 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Research Priorities in Suicide Prevention in Australia
Robinson, J., Pirkis, J., Krysinska, K. E., Niner, S. L., Jorm, A. F., Dudley, M. J., Schindeler, E., Leo, D. D., & Harrigan, S. (2008) · Crisis · doi:10.1027/0227-5910.29.4.180 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Self-citationSuicide Prevention by Online Support Groups: An Action Theory-Based Model of Emotional First Aid
Gilat, I., & Shahar, G. (2009) · Archives of Suicide Research · doi:10.1080/13811110802572148 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
On‐Line Support and Resources for People Bereaved through Suicide: What Is Available?
Krysinska, K. E., & Andriessen, K. (2010) · Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior · doi:10.1521/suli.2010.40.6.640 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Kemp, C. G., & Collings, S. C. (2011) · Crisis · doi:10.1027/0227-5910/a000068 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Surfing for Suicide Methods and Help
Till, B., & Niederkrotenthaler, T. (2014) · The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry · doi:10.4088/jcp.13m08861 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Cybersuicide and the adolescent population: challenges of the future?
Birbal, R., Maharajh, H. D., Birbal, R., Clapperton, M., Jarvis, J. K., Ragoonath, A., & Uppalapati, K. (2009) · PubMed · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Offering Support to Suicidal Individuals in an Online Support Group
Gilat, I., Tobin, Y., & Shahar, G. (2011) · Archives of Suicide Research · doi:10.1080/13811118.2011.589675 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Suicide Prevention via the Internet
Jacob, N., Scourfield, J., & Evans, R. (2014) · Crisis · doi:10.1027/0227-5910/a000254 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Research priorities in suicide prevention: an examination of Australian-based research 2007–11
Robinson, J., & Pirkis, J. (2013) · Australian Health Review · doi:10.1071/ah13058 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Self-citationWesterlund, M. (2013) · Nordicom review/NORDICOM review · doi:10.2478/nor-2013-0052 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Internet suicide in Japan: A qualitative content analysis of a suicide bulletin board
Ikunaga, A., Nath, S. R., & Skinner, K. A. (2013) · Transcultural Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/1363461513487308 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Belfort, E. L., Mezzacappa, E., & Ginnis, K. B. (2012) · Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.2174/2210676611202030258 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Gilat, I., Tobin, Y., & Shahar, G. (2012) · Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology · doi:10.1007/s00127-012-0508-7 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Hsiung, R. C. (2007) · CyberPsychology & Behavior · doi:10.1089/cpb.2007.9999 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Manning, J., & VanDeusen, K. M. (2011) · Journal of American College Health · doi:10.1080/07448480903540507 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Penn, D. L., Simpson, L., Edie, G., Leggett, S. C., Wood, L., Hawgood, J. L., Krysinska, K. E., Yellowlees, P., & Leo, D. D. (2005) · Health Informatics Journal · doi:10.1177/1460458205058755 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Suicide on the Internet: a focus for nursing intervention?
Baume, P., Rolfe, A., & Clinton, M. (1998) · PubMed · Cited by 21 · see citing works
CCi Digital Futures report: the Internet in Australia
Ewing, S., Thomas, J., & Schiessl, J. (2024) · Swinburne figshare (Swinburne University of Technology) · doi:10.25916/sut.26226734 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
The discursive self-construction of suicidal help seekers in computer-mediated discourse
Kupferberg, I., & Gilat, I. (2013) · Communication & Medicine · doi:10.1558/cam.v9i1.23 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Improving our understanding of youth suicide clusters
Pirkis, J., & Robinson, J. (2014) · The Lancet Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s2215-0366(14)70227-5 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Self-citationPromising Practices, Future Prospects and Research Agenda
Kerkhof, A. J. F. M., & Mishara, B. L. (2013) · Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks · doi:10.1057/9781137351692_13 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Social media, internet use and suicide attempts in adolescents
Sedgwick, R., Epstein, S., Dutta, R., & Ougrin, D. (2019) · Current Opinion in Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/yco.0000000000000547 · Cited by 260 · see citing works
“No intervention studies have been done using social media for suicide prevention, but there are examples of social media sites designed for suicide prevention, including sites with potential to reach those at risk of suicide [45], building on the increasing self-harm and suicide intervention evidence base.”
Torous, J., Larsen, M. E., Depp, C., Cosco, T. D., Barnett, I., Nock, M. K., & Firth, J. (2018) · Current Psychiatry Reports · doi:10.1007/s11920-018-0914-y · Cited by 207 · see citing works
Sullivan, S. A., Kounali, D., Cannon, M., David, A. S., Fletcher, P. C., Holmans, P., Jones, H., Jones, P. B., Linden, D. E. J., Lewis, G., et al. (2020) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.19060654 · Cited by 176 · see citing works
Social Media Use and Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Nesi, J., Burke, T. A., Bettis, A. H., Kudinova, A. Y., Thompson, E. C., MacPherson, H. A., Fox, K. A., Lawrence, H. R., Thomas, S. A., Wolff, J. C., et al. (2021) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2021.102038 · Cited by 186 · see citing works
Turnbull, D., Chugh, R., & Luck, J. (2023) · Social Sciences & Humanities Open · doi:10.1016/j.ssaho.2022.100381 · Cited by 164 · see citing works
Rice, S., Gleeson, J., Davey, C., Hetrick, S., Parker, A., Lederman, R., Wadley, G., Murray, G., Herrman, H., Chambers, R., et al. (2018) · Early Intervention in Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/eip.12354 · Cited by 118 · see citing works
Self-citationRobinson, J., Hill, N. T. M., Thorn, P., Battersby, R., Teh, Z., Reavley, N. J., Pirkis, J., Lamblin, M., Rice, S., & Skehan, J. (2018) · PLOS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0206584 · Cited by 101 · see citing works
Self-citationSocial Media Use and Deliberate Self-Harm Among Youth: A Systematized Narrative Review
Biernesser, C., Sewall, C. J. R., Brent, D., Bear, T., Mair, C., & Trauth, J. (2020) · Children and Youth Services Review · doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105054 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
An analysis of depression, self-harm, and suicidal ideation content on Tumblr
Cavazos-Rehg, P. A., Krauss, M. J., Sowles, S. J., Connolly, S., Rosas, C., Bharadwaj, M., Grucza, R., & Bierut, L. J. (2017) · Crisis · doi:10.1027/0227-5910/a000409 · Cited by 87 · see citing works
Robinson, J., Bailey, E., Hetrick, S., Paix, S., O'Donnell, M., Cox, G., Ftanou, M., & Skehan, J. (2017) · JMIR Mental Health · doi:10.2196/mental.7847 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Self-citationThe mental health and social media use of young Australians during the COVID-19 pandemic
Bailey, E., Boland, A., Bell, I., Nicholas, J., La Sala, L., & Robinson, J. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph19031077 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
Self-citationSocial media use of adolescents who died by suicide: Lessons from a psychological autopsy study
Balt, E., Mérelle, S., Robinson, J., Popma, A., Creemers, D., van den Brand, I., van Bergen, D., Rasing, S., Mulder, W., & Gilissen, R. (2023) · Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health · doi:10.1186/s13034-023-00597-9 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Self-citationSusi, K., Glover‐Ford, F., Stewart, A., Knowles Bevis, R., & Hawton, K. (2023) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/jcpp.13754 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Mérelle, S., Van Bergen, D., Looijmans, M., Balt, E., Rasing, S., van Domburgh, L., Nauta, M., Sijperda, O., Mulder, W., Gilissen, R., et al. (2020) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0238031 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Social Media and Suicide Risk in Youth
Jaycox, L. H., Murphy, E. R., Zehr, J. L., Pearson, J. L., & Avenevoli, S. (2024) · JAMA Network Open · doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.41499 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Cyberbullying on social media: Definitions, prevalence, and impact challenges
Ray, G., McDermott, C. D., & Nicho, M. (2024) · Journal of Cybersecurity · doi:10.1093/cybsec/tyae026 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Santesteban-Echarri, O., Rice, S., Wadley, G., Lederman, R., D'Alfonso, S., Russon, P., Chambers, R., Miles, C. J., Gilbertson, T., Gleeson, J. F., et al. (2017) · Internet Interventions · doi:10.1016/j.invent.2017.06.002 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Internet Forums for Suicide Bereavement: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Users
Bailey, E., Krysinska, K., O'Dea, B., & Robinson, J. (2017) · Crisis · doi:10.1027/0227-5910/a000471 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Self-citationWill restricting the age of access to social media reduce mental illness in Australian youth?
Blake, J. A., Sourander, A., Kato, A., & Scott, J. G. (2025) · Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/00048674241308692 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
“Notably, it can reach and support large numbers of young people, including those already facing mental health challenges, who may be harder to engage through traditional support channels (Robinson et al., 2016).”
Does suicide contagion (Werther effect) take place in response to social media? A systematic review
Calvo, S., Carrasco, J. P., Conde-Pumpido, C., Esteve, J., & Aguilar, E. J. (2026) · Spanish Journal of Psychiatry and Mental Health · doi:10.1016/j.sjpmh.2024.05.003 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
- Authors
- Robinson, J., Cox, G., Bailey, E., Hetrick, S., Rodrigues, M., Fisher, S., & Herrman, H.
- Affiliations
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- Community Works Associates Pty Ltd Docklands Victoria Australia
- Corresponding author
- Robinson, Jo
- Venue
- Early Intervention in Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2015-02-19
- Volume
- 10
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 103-121
- ISSN
- 1751-7885 (ISSN-L)
- 1751-7893
- OpenAlex
- W1922396948
- Cited by
- 336
- References
- 59
- Citations by year
- 2026: 22 · 2025: 30 · 2024: 33 · 2023: 34 · 2022: 45 · 2021: 40 · 2020: 42 · 2019: 22 · 2018: 29 · 2017: 18 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 3.13
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Early Intervention in Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Minerva Access (University of Melbourne) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre
- Orygen Youth Health Research Centre
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health via Writing
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Keywords
- social media, suicide prevention, suicidal ideation, youth, suicide risk identification, suicide contagion, privacy and confidentiality
- MeSH terms
- Suicide Prevention, Humans, Social Media
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
