The journey of engaging with web-based self-harm and suicide content: Longitudinal qualitative study

Background: Self-harm and suicide are major public health concerns worldwide, with attention focused on the web environment as a helpful or harmful influence. Longitudinal research on self-harm and suicide–related internet use is limited, highlighting a paucity of evidence on long-term patterns and effects of engaging with such content. Objective: This study explores the experiences of […]

The journey of engaging with web-based self-harm and suicide content: Longitudinal qualitative study

Background: Self-harm and suicide are major public health concerns worldwide, with attention focused on the web environment as a helpful or harmful influence. Longitudinal research on self-harm and suicide–related internet use is limited, highlighting a paucity of evidence on long-term patterns and effects of engaging with such content. Objective: This study explores the experiences of […]

Changes in suicide ideation among users of online gatekeeping using search-based advertising

Recently, the practice of “online gatekeeping” related to suicide prevention-placing online advertisements directed at users who search the web for suicide-related terms and leading them to email-based consultations-has been implemented. However, the effectiveness of this practice has not been examined. Therefore, we quantitatively examined the effectiveness of suicide-related online gatekeeping. This was a non-randomized, single-arm […]

Reflection of suicidal ideation in terms searched for by Japanese internet users

Background: The relationship between search terms and suicidal ideation is not precisely known. Aims: This study examined the relationship between the types of terms used in web searches and the level of suicidal ideation among individuals who conduct such searches. Methods: A total of 508 Internet users completed a suicidal ideation scale and conveyed to us the words […]

Time-series analyses of firearm-related Google searches and U.S. suicide rates 2004–2016

Objective The U.S. suicide rate has increased 35% since 1999. The role of the Internet has not been thoroughly investigated despite Internet use more than doubling from 1999 to present. The majority of U.S. suicide deaths are by firearm; however, there is no examination of the association between trends in firearm Internet searches and overall […]

How search engines handle suicide queries

The suicide contagion effect posits that exposure to suicide related content increases the likelihood of an individual engaging in suicidal behavior. Internet suicide-related queries correlate with suicide prevalence. However, suicide-related searches also lead people to access help resources. This article systematically evaluates the results returned from both general suicide terms and terms related to specific […]

Psychosocial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study of online help-seeking Canadian men

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the lives of men. The present study investigated psychosocial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on a help-seeking sample of Canadian men, focusing on diverse aspects of their psychosocial well-being. Methods: A cross-sectional, open survey study design was used. Canadian adult men who were visiting an […]

Firearm-related internet searches as a correlate of future firearm suicides: Cross-correlation analyses of monthly Google search volumes and method-specific suicide rates in the United States

Background No previous study has investigated correlations between monthly Google search volumes (MGSVs) of suicide-related search terms and suicide-method specific monthly suicide rates (MSRs). This study examined if the trends in MGSVs of suicide-related terms preceded the variations in method-specific MSRs. Methods MGSVs of 97 candidate suicide-related terms were obtained by averaging 10 timeseries data […]

Perceived utility and characterization of personal Google search histories to detect data patterns proximal to a suicide attempt in individuals who previously attempted suicide: Pilot cohort study

Background: Despite decades of research to better understand suicide risk and to develop detection and prevention methods, suicide is still one of the leading causes of death globally. While large-scale studies using real-world evidence from electronic health records can identify who is at risk, they have not been successful at pinpointing when someone is at risk. […]

Google searches for suicide and suicide risk factors in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic

A novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), which causes the COVID-19 respiratory illness, emerged in December of 2019 and has since spread globally. The dramatic lifestyle changes and stressors associated with this pandemic pose a threat to mental health and have the potential to exacerbate risk factors for suicide. We used autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models to […]

The impact of widely publicized suicides on search trends: Using Google Trends to test the Werther and Papageno effects

The objective of this study was to examine the impact of widely publicized suicides on the Werther and Papageno Effects using internet search trends. A list of widely publicized suicides from 2010 through 2018 was compiled along with dates of death for each of these individuals. Google.com/trends data were then collected for searches for “how […]

Changes in suicide and resilience-related Google searches during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction Pandemics such as the 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak have the potential to negatively impact mental health,1 which may, in turn, influence suicide rates.2 Due to the substantial lag before mortality data become available, it will be some time before that can be investigated. More readily available proxy indicators, such as Google search trends,3 may […]