INFLUENCE OF

SUICIDE

IMAGES ON

INSTAGRAM

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WRITTEN BY :

Celine Klooster

SUPERV ISOR :

Luuk Lagerwerf

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RESEARCH INTO THE

TYPES AND EFFECTS OF

SUICIDE IMAGES

A 14-year-old girl named Molly Russel from the United Kingdomcommitted suicide and her parents said it was Instagram's fault. Instagram allows self-harm accounts, which post different images of people hurtingthemselves. On October 27, 2019, Instagram announced that it prohibitsposting images of self-harm and that it is attempting to block suicideimages through search restrictions. In the present research the following research question is used: To whatextent do the hashtags #selfharm and #selfinjury differ in the contentcharacteristics and scope of self-harm images on Instagram and what arethe consequences of these images?

Research

When researching the images, Ilooked at how suicide images arepresented on Instagram. Twodifferent hashtags where used: onewithout any restrictions fromInstagram and one with restrictionsfrom Instagram. The effects of thesesuicide images were researched andhow these search restrictions impactthe number of suicide images onInstagram. The importance of thisresearch is especially to help otherorganizations who fight against thecauses of suicide and who try to helppeople of all ages to fight againstsuicide. Besides, it is also helpful forInstagram to take a look at how theycan help combat suicide caused byInstagram suicide images.

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RESULTS OF

RESEARCH

SUICIDE IMAGESThese images are very common on Instagram andthey can be linked to different emotions like hate orsuicide methods like cutting. The results show thatthe search restrictions work a little because fewerpeople are reached by suicide images. This shows thatthis search restriction should be implemented formore hashtags, making it more difficult for users tofulfill their needs with the medium, which can alsoreduce imitation and observation. On the other hand,more information material has to be placed, which isstill far too rare for both hashtags.

HASHTAGSBoth hashtags contain a lot of different suicideimages, but the hashtag without blocks containedmore suicide images. The first reason may be that thehashtag #selfharm is well protected with the searchrestriction which can lead to a diminishing responsecount. A second reason may be that the hashtag#selfinjury has users who are more motivated to postdifferent responses, such as the helper and the emojiresponse.

EFFECTS OF SUICIDE

IMAGESThe suicide images can cause a copycat effect, whichmeans that other people imitate the suicide methodwhich was used by the previous person. This is anegative effect which needs to be solved.

The strategy Instagram is currently usingstill leads to the loss of innocent lives.Many lives can be saved by applyinggreater search restrictions, by postingeducational materials and betteralgorithms.

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