Social Media and Suicide Risk in Youth

Abstract

Importance: Youth, parents, educators, and policymakers are concerned about the potential relationship between social media use and negative mental health outcomes, including risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

Observations: Current research shows complex and conflicting relationships between social media use and suicide risk. A key limiting factor in clarifying these relationships is a dearth of available information on contextual factors around social media use, with most research focusing only on hours or amount of engagement. Whereas there are clear associations between some types of social media use and suicide risk, there are also many opportunities to mitigate suicide risk through social media. Several methodologic and measurement issues make research challenging. Researchers have only begun to explore how specific risk factors interact with individual vulnerabilities, how social media can be used to enhance youth well-being, and whether and under what circumstances mitigation strategies can be helpful.

Conclusions and relevance: This overview identifies research gaps and methodological challenges that need to be addressed to guide intervention strategies and future policy relevant to youth and suicide risk.